


The One Where Steve is Tarzan and Toni is Not Really the Outdoorsy Type

by cole90210



Series: Not-so-Grimm: Avengers Fairytale AUs [4]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tarzan (1999), Tarzan - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Tarzan Fusion, Amnesia, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Female Tony Stark, Fluff, Injury, Oral Fixation, Oral Sex, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:01:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24118426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cole90210/pseuds/cole90210
Summary: Once upon a time there was a wild man living in the jungle with an ill-remembered past. He runs in to a super heroine having a rather bad day. There are wild beasts and a lack of personal boundaries, but they make it work. Tarzan AU, Steve x Toni (Girl!Tony)
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Not-so-Grimm: Avengers Fairytale AUs [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1694308
Comments: 41
Kudos: 222





	1. Chapter one

All of the controls were going haywire, causing a cacophony of alarms to fill the plane’s cabin. Comms were dying, the crackling voice of Colonel Phillips cutting in and out. “Rogers, report… location… package…”

Captain Steven Rogers gripped the plane’s controls tightly when they threatened to twist out of his control.

“Colonel Phillips, do you read? Package is on board, but the controls are shot. Navigation is gone. Radar is gone. Location unknown, all I see is water. I don’t think I’ll make it to land. I- I’m going to have to put it in the water.” He spoke firmly, a tremor only entering his voice at the end.

“Cap… Cap… hear…” came the last crackles from the radio before it too was lost.

Steve took a shaking breath. He was so afraid.

He was going to crash. Even with the serum running through his veins, he could not hope to survive. And if he did, he appeared to be in the middle of the ocean. How far could his injured body swim, and in what direction?

The silver lining is that the HYDRA weapon on board would die with him. At least the world would be safe from the destruction it could cause.

More alarms blared now, and Steven could smell smoke.

He wished it did not have to be this way.

He wished he was not alone in these, his final moments.

As the cabin rattled roughly, he saw land on the horizon. A small sense of hope started to flicker inside him. But as he drew closer, he saw a narrow beach then a dense canopy of jungle. Not a clearing in site for a safe landing.

Not that it mattered now.

He pulled on the controls, but they did not respond.

He was going to nosedive in to the jungle.

He hoped it was quick.

Steve closed his eyes, giving his last thoughts to Bucky and the Commandos, his brothers. To the bright, sharp minds of Agent Carter, Colonel Phillips, Howard Stark and the other brilliant officers that would continue to fight HYDRA once he was gone.

Steve felt the impact of the plane hitting the trees and the next instant he felt sharp, horrible pain, the loud screeching of metal and then there was nothing.

***************************

He opened his eyes.

He did not know where he was.

He hurt.

He raised a hand to his head and it came back stained red.

He pushed himself up to stand, though his leg hurt where he could see a shard of something sticking out of him.

Where _was_ he?

Was there anyone else here?

He could see trees outside of the strange, cramped room he was in with so many buttons and levers and boxes of metal.

He pushed through a panel of metal that was partially ripped away from the side of the room and jumped down to the ground beneath him, his leg protesting strongly.

He could see and hear no one.

Was he expecting people to be there? He thought yes, maybe. Maybe a man with dark hair…

But who was that man? And for that matter, who was _he_?

“Cap… Cap…” he heard a phantom voice say in his head.

“Cap…” he said aloud, seeing how it felt on his tongue. It did not feel quite right, but it would have to do for now.

He set off, knowing he needed water and to find someone… else. To find another living creature. It was important, he thought, that he was not alone.

Cap limped along for an hour before he found water, resting to drink and clean his wounds. They already seemed better than before, they were definitely bleeding less.

As he took his fill of water, the hair on the back of his neck raised.

He was no longer alone.

He looked imploringly around before he met a pair of dark eyes.

The creature hesitantly moved forward, bracing itself on its long arms covered in dark fur.

It shuffled forward curiously until it was close enough to sniff Cap’s hair.

Cap did not know what to call this creature. He could not recall ever having seen one before. But it grabbed lightly at his shoulders in a friendly sort of way before it settled next to him, also having a drink.

Cap sat with this kind being for hours, allowing it to rake its hands through his hair and tug curiously at his clothes. Though they could not communicate, it seemed that he could do far worse for company. So when the animal got up to leave and beckoned Cap to follow, he did.

20 years later

Toni sped through the air, chasing the HYDRA drone that held the package the Avengers had been sent to retrieve.

She had taken heavy fire in the fight, which must have been over an hour ago. The longer she flew without the critical maintenance her suit needed the worse it was going to be. Like driving on a flat tire.

But she could not stop. The drones were made of stealth gear and had resisted their efforts to track them thus far. The only feasible strategy was good old-fashioned line of sight.

“Jarvis buddy, you still got me?” she asked, nervous for the response.

“Yes Miss. But I fear not for much longer.” Came Jarvis in her ear.

“Well I better wrap this up then. Full thrusters.” Toni said, throwing everything she had into a last burst of speed to catch up with the quick, slippery bastard.

She muted all the system failure alarms as they showed up on her screen. She was so close.

“J, all power to front repulsor. Let’s take it down.”

One final surge of power emanated from her chest, running a scorching beam straight through the drone’s chest plate. It suddenly plummeted, Toni following. As she approached the ground, she felt the controls of her suit failing.

“J?” she asked.

She received no reply.

Her monitor display flickered and disappeared.

She cut through the tree canopy and crashed to the ground.

She lay there for several moments feeling winded before she activated the emergency release and rolled out of the inactive suit.

“Perfect. Stranded in the African jungle without a powered-up suit or my Bear Grylls survival guide. But hey, at least I got Fury’s toy back. That makes it worth it.” Toni muttered to herself. She sat up and looked around to get her bearings. The drone was crashed about 3 metres away, their respective crash landings having formed something of a clearing.

She trudged over, picking up the small container that held the package she had been trying to retrieve.

 _I wonder if it contains anything helpful to my current predicament, or if opening it would be following too closely in Pandora’s footsteps?_ She thought idly.

_Best try a few other options before we go down that rabbit hole._

Toni walked back to her suit, pulling out the small tool set she had built in for small repairs.

Trying to fix her suit with just a few screwdrivers and a mini welding iron would be like trying to perform neuro-surgery in a barn with a butter knife.

But then, she had built the Iron Woman suit in a cave with less sophisticated materials, and now she had a working (albeit powered down) suit and a whole other high-tech drone to pull from.

She was Toni Freaking Stark. She could do this.


	2. Chapter two

He was sitting with Sister as she groomed her new son, a fluffy little bundle only weeks old, when he heard the sound like gun fire and subsequent crash.

He leapt to his feet instinctively, tuning his senses to the sounds so he could track it through the jungle.

The Family looked at him curiously. He knew that sound meant danger, and he knew it was up to him to protect the Family from it.

He set off through the canopy of trees, swinging from vines from tree to tree. When he approached the origin of the sound he slowed, creeping carefully across branches to look down at the mess below.

There was a crash path through the branches where the things had fallen from the sky. They lay on their backs on the ground below, unmoving.

He had not seen creatures like this in the jungle. One was light and pointed, and now he looked closer, it had no discernible face. It was entirely still, not alive. His gaze moved to the bright red one that shine in the rays of sunlight that broke through the trees.

It had a smooth face, no nose, just eyes. Again, it looked… not real. He tilted his head, unsure what this could be when all of a sudden it _opened_.

He reared back, but it was not a grizzly mess that poured out.

A person did.

Like him.

He had never seen another person for as long as he could remember. Sometimes he would dream in faces, in people he may have known or may have made up, but they always slipped from his grasp when he woke.

This one was real. They had short, dark hair, long pale arms and slim legs covered in a dark material. They were smaller than him, the torso seeming so slight except for the curves encased in tight material on their chest which was strangely… captivating.

 _Woman_ He thought, not knowing where the knowledge came from but knowing he was right. _Her, she, lady._

He studied her face, a frown tugging on her brow and full lips turned down as she muttered something.

She was beautiful.

He found beauty in a lot of things in the jungle, but this was different. His heart beat faster and he couldn’t tear his eyes away from this lovely creature. He shifted to rest against a branch high in the canopy and watched as she walked back and forth between the two – were they shells? Her voice continued to keep up a running commentary that he could not fully understand but was not for him anyway. He relaxed into the sound of her voice – lighter than his, but still a captivating timbre that he felt he could listen to for hours.

She drank from a small container she pulled from her shell then tipped her head back to expose her long neck, pressing the water container against her throat to cool herself.

He felt his groin stir.

He wondered if he should make himself known. Would she approach him if he did? He was uncharacteristically nervous at the thought of being the one to approach her. He had never approached a woman before. He thinks.

*************************************

Toni was melting. She was not going to be able to fix the suit if the parts kept slipping out of her stupid, sweaty fingers. She was worse than Butterfingers.

She sighed, flopping down to take a break. She was running out of water. She would have to seek out some soon, but she had been hoping to restore her tracker system before then so she could start mapping out the immediate area and trace her way back to the suit easily.

Her chest felt tight with anxiety as she thought about her limited options.

“Risk dehydration to stay here and work on the suit or wonder alone into the jungle and probably get eaten by a hippopotamus?” She wondered aloud. “Or option three where I get malaria no matter what I choose and die anyway?” she continued, slapping a mosquito that had landed on her arm.

She winced, wiping her hand on her tights and looking back to her suit, as though Jarvis would somehow have resurrected himself to get her the stats on death-by-bug in the African jungle.

Her eyes caught movement in the leaves in front of her.

Two yellow eyes stared back at her.

Looks like death had found her even sooner than expected.

It was a leopard, half shrouded in shadow but staring intently at her. Its head was low and shoulders hunched, as though it were getting ready to pounce.

Toni froze, her brilliant mind racing through her options.

She immediately dismissed the option of running for it. She was no slouch on the track (Happy would not let her be), but there was no way she was making it more than a few paces before this beast was on her.

She could roll back in her suit and clamp it shut again. It would still be powered down, but she would like to see the cat try to bite its way through Iron Woman’s metal alloy.

It would take precious seconds to get in to place though, and the leopard could probably shred her in three. She needed to distract it or scare it enough to hesitate while she climbed to safety.

Her hand was scant inches away from the arm of her suit. If she could pick up the arm, aim it and hit the flare trigger, she was sure it would buy her time. Could she move slow enough to not provoke the leopard to attack? Should she move fast and _beat_ the leopard to attack? Was it dogs or cats you stared down to prove your dominance?

She had taken too long to decide.

The leopard sprang forward with a harsh snarl. Toni reached for the suit arm, but as her hand wrapped around it, she felt red hot pain shoot up her leg.

She screamed, wrenching her leg away from the leopard’s claws and scrambling for the repulsor.

She knew she would not make it.

But it did not attack again.

Toni heard the leopard snarl once more, sounding even more savage. Through her pain she tracked the big cat with her eyes as it was wrenched up and launched through the air, back into the foliage. Then there was the naked back of a man standing directly in front of her.

Where the _fuck_ did he come from?

As she gaped, in pain and confused at the muscular form in front of her, she heard the heavy thump of paws on bracken as the jungle cat relaunched its attack.

The man moved so fluidly but had the presence of a mountain, diving forward to dodge the swipe of the leopard’s deadly claws, wrapping his big hands around its front leg and still managing to position himself protectively in front of Toni.

He threw it back again, letting out a deep, guttural sound that would have had her scrambling away if it were not in her defence.

The leopard was not so dissuaded, launching itself again at the man.

Perhaps if he had felt free to move around, to fight unencumbered by the injured woman behind him, he might have been able to avoid being pinned down by the wild animal.

But he refused to give it a direct line to Toni.

He landed on his back and Toni got a quick glimpse of a scruffy beard covering a handsome face and huge, strong arms pushing back the leopard by its throat before she raised the arm of the Iron Woman suit, setting off the flares that fired directly in to the jungle cat’s eyes.

It screeched, reeling back in surprise which gave the wild man the advantage, quickly twisting his arms around the beasts’ neck hard, followed by a quick, brutal snap.

The only sound left in the clearing was the heavy breathing of both Toni and the mysterious man. He let the lifeless body of the savage animal fall to the ground, now focussing his attention on her.

If she felt pinned before, it was nothing to right now.

The man was a huge, intimidating presence, though he did not draw himself up to full height as he watched her. He had piercing blue eyes, the likes of which she had never seen. They were fixed on her with laser-like focus and in them she could see his intelligence, his careful assessment of her and his empathy.

Was she waxing poetic about a pair of eyes? Maybe she was worse off than she thought.

Her eyes reluctantly left her mysterious bearded protector and looked down to assess the damage wrought by the leopard.

Her right calf had four long scratches, two deep enough to be worrying but not the shreds she had expected to find. She supposed the mountain man had grabbed the big cat just as it made contact, where it had no doubt been aiming for the femoral artery in her thigh.

“Well shit, I guess that could been worse- HEY! Don’t come any closer.” Toni had looked up to find the man four paces closer than he had been. She had not even heard him move.

He stopped as she yelled, looking concerned rather than offended. It occurred to her that if he was going to knock her over the head and drag her to his cave or otherwise engage in creepy behaviour, he probably would have done it already.

 _Don’t judge a man by his loin cloth_ she thought.

“Just… back it up a step there Gladiator. I’m grateful for the assist, turning in to cat kibble is one of the few things that could actually make this day worse, but you are-“

Toni cut off, watching the man tilt his head and frown slightly in confusion.

“- are not understanding a word I am saying, are you?”

The man moved slowly, gesturing to her bleeding leg and vocalising lowly as he pointed, like a grunt.

Toni squinted at him. “Are you… was that a word? English? Francais? Deutsch? Svenska?”

He continued to frown at her as he raised his hands to his chest to point at himself.

“Cap.” He said in a gruff voice.

“Cap.” She repeated deadpan. “What, is that like your frat nickname?”

“Cap.” He repeated, pointing at himself meaningfully, then extending his arm to gesture at her.

She sighed. She was rapidly losing hope that he was going to be able to help her any further – unless another wild animal attacked, in which case she wanted him right by her side.

“Toni.” She said clearly, gesturing to herself.

“Toni.” He repeated. His deep voice wrapped around her name in an appealing timbre.

“So, CAP. Do you know any home remedies for a jungle cat gash?” she asked, pointing to her leg and hoping he got it.

He looked at her with a silent question in his eyes as he went to move forward, obviously not wanting her to yell at him again.

“Yeah yes, you can approach the bench.” She said, gesturing him closer.

He still moved slowly, bending over her injured leg to look closer at the scratches. He continued to scoot forward until he looked two seconds away from actually straddling her. He glanced at her for permission once more before he actually touched her. When she nodded, he cradled her calf so gently, his warm calloused hand lifting her leg slightly.

He sat back and gestured as though he wanted to pick her up, making another soft noise in his throat.

“Oh, no. No this is not a damsel situation. I need to stay with the suit. Stay. With suit.” She gestured at the suit laying prone next to her.

“It’s just that I need water-“ she rattled her almost empty water bottle, “and any medical-grade antiseptic you have on hand-“ she didn’t bother trying to sign that one out, “can you show me water nearby?”

He tracked her movements closely – Toni had delivered commencement speeches at MIT that had received less attention than she was getting right now.

He held his hands up as though to gesture she should stay where she was and walked to the edge of the clearing. He cast one more look over his shoulder at Toni before he disappeared.

“Uh… ok. Are you coming back?” Toni asked the now empty space.

She was met with silence.

“I’ll take that as a maybe.”


	3. Chapter three

He rushed back toward Toni carrying a water in a bowl he had woven himself from broad leaves and the strongly scented plant he used to clean his own wounds. He was nervous to leave her alone after the leopard had attacked her. If he had been allowed, he would have carried her with him to the river to keep her safe.

He still felt phantom wisps of the gut-wrenching fear he had felt when he heard the snap and soft breathing of the leopard as it prowled towards Toni. He should have noticed it earlier, but he had been so distracted watching her that he had not been as vigilant as he should have been. He had descended on the clearing as fast as he could, but it was not fast enough to spare Toni any injury.

He clenched his jaw. If he had been quicker, smarter…

He slowed his steps as he approached, not wanting to frighten Toni. He did not want her to send him away.

“Cap is back. And he brings water. Super helpful, thank you. Plant yourself down here bud.” She said.

Though he did not understand what she was saying apart from his name, he went to where she gestured, slowly lowering himself to the ground by her leg.

He placed the water closer to her, gesturing for her to drink from it. She did so with a small smile at him.

His heart fluttered and his palms felt clammy.

She was even more beautiful up close. Her dark eyes were hypnotic, and her smooth pale skin looked so soft and pure, nothing like his. And she was smiling and chattering like she was comfortable with him, even when she was injured. He felt very privileged.

She kept talking to him as he washed away the blood from her leg and showed her the plant before he squeezed and wrung it out. He dropped the resulting liquid over her wound, wincing slightly as she did. It was needed to avoid infection, but he did not like being the cause of her pain.

She brushed his hands away where they lingered close to her skin, and he snatched them back. Maybe he had overstepped?

But no, she was wrapping a strip of material she had ripped from her other pant leg around her slim calf where the wound was deepest. As she leaned forward, his eyes were drawn to the tight material surrounding her chest, which now afforded him a glance straight down to the skin underneath.

 _Breasts_ a voice in his head supplied. He did not much care what they were called though, as long as he could keep looking at them.

They looked somehow firm and soft at the same time. They were perfectly curved, pressing together as she bent, bouncing slightly as she moved her body. He thought they looked like the perfect size to fit in his hands.

Toni grunted as she pulled the knot tight, her leg now securely wrapped. He shifted his gaze back to her leg to assure himself they had done all they could for it, but he was unable to resist his gaze darting back to her chest one last time.

“I get that you must be pretty hard up for the female form in the jungle and you did just save my life, so I am going to allow that.” She said wryly.

His eyes shot up to her face but he knew it was too late, he had been caught staring. He could feel himself blushing deeply. Something told him that is was very rude to stare at a lady like that, though he was not sure how he was supposed to stop himself.

Toni chuckled. “You’re pretty cute and bashful for a 6 foot 5 specimen of pure muscle that takes down apex predators with his bare hands.”

He stared back at her. She did not seem upset. If anything, she seemed to be at ease in his company.

“Are there any other people around here? Like you and me? Others?”

She gestured at him and then herself before casting a wide arm as though indicating the rest of the jungle. He guessed she was asking if there were any other people like him, or perhaps if he had seen any other members of her family.

He grunted in the negative. “Toni. Cap.” He said, nodding firmly afterward to try to tell her that it was only the two of them, as far as he had ever seen.

Just the two of them.

He had thought he would never meet another of his species.

He would protect her, make sure she had food and water. Perhaps in return she would let him remain close to her. He wondered if she would maybe even teach him to understand what she was saying. Her words hung in the air, almost familiar to him but beyond his grasp.

It was getting dark, and though he could move through the jungle with ease no matter the time of day, he did not think she would be as able yet.

He pointed to the sky and back towards his nest to try and convey his message, once again gesturing like he wanted to pick her up - he would like to pick her up, to be close enough to smell her hair.

She was shaking her head again, pointing back to her shell like she wanted to stay here, in the open.

How was he supposed to convince her to come with him?

************************************

Cap was getting increasingly distressed in trying to convince her to leave the suit.

The very thought made her shudder. Even mostly powered down, it was her only resource to keep her safe in this wild world.

 _Well, not the only… or even the most effective_ she thought as she once again eyed the muscular form of Cap in front of her.

She did not usually go for the rugged type, nor for men whose muscles emulated the Rock’s. Right now though, she could not imagine how this type of man _hadn’t_ appealed to her before.

His softly grunted and wildly gesticulated argument was starting to sway her – if he had a safe place to sleep, she should probably go with him. What if he got sick of arguing with her and left to his shelter? The thought of climbing into the Iron Woman suit for a long, uncomfortable night was not very appealing.

An idea seemed to hit him then, his bright eyes lighting up as he cleared some of the leaf matter to reveal the soil underneath. Then with a stick, he drew what seemed like a crude map in the soil.

Toni’s confusion increased. She suspected that cartography, even as crude as this, was not something a man born and raised in the wild might take up.

He drew a rough shape in the soil that she guessed was supposed to be her amour, then a line heading east to an ‘X’. Another sign of societal impact in his drawing. He moved two twigs back and forth between the two places.

“Ok I get it, you can lead me to and from the suit.” Toni said.

She sighed, leaning down to fasten to her wrist gauntlet, picking up the tools and a tracking device she had yet to get back up and running. She moved to stand, being careful of her leg.

Cap moved quickly, his hands gently holding her waist as he raised her to her feet as though she weighed the same as a feather. He stood incredibly close as he steadied her on her feet.

“Woah Superman, I’m not quite that injured. Which way?” she asked, pointing her finger and waiting for him to set off in direction of wherever he wanted to take her.

His made another soft, low noise, gesturing to her leg and asking once again to pick her up.

Toni considered.

She normally would not allow such a display of macho chivalry, as being seen carried princess style by a big strong man threatened her own badass motherfucker reputation. But there was no one here to see. And her leg hurt. And her weight seemed to be barely a blip on the radar of his biceps…

“Alright, sweep me off my feet wild boy.” She said, raising her arms slightly.

His face immediately broke in to a bright, sincere smile, as though she had awarded him a prize far greater than bearing her weight on a walk through their humid surrounds.

She could not help but return his smile, like a reflex.

He once again handled her with incredible gentleness, allowing her to wrap her hands around his neck as he cradled her back and under her thighs to lift her off the ground. He inhaled deeply.

“… did you just smell my hair?” she asked, puzzled.

He just smiled down at her, carrying her out of the clearing. She cast one last glance at her armour laying prone on the ground. She hated to leave it behind, but she felt deep down that she was in the safest possible place right now, in Cap’s arms.

Then he let go of her legs, wrapped an arm tight around her back and took a running leap in to the trees.

Toni let out a rather unappealing squeal as Cap launched them through the air, loping from one vine to another with one arm and seemingly no effort.

She clung tightly to his neck, wondering if she had grossly overestimated how balanced and reasonable this man was.

She could not get any words out to tell him off for being fucking crazy enough to entrust his and her combined weight to the vines he was using, not that he would have understood her. She hoped he knew the way back to the suit on the ground because she was NOT flying through the air like this again.

They were probably only swinging for about sixty seconds, but when Cap came to a stop on a massive, sturdy tree branch at least ten metres in the air, Toni scrambled down his torso to stand on her own two feet.

“Are you crazy man? Warn a girl, jeez…” She may be being slightly overdramatic, given some of the stunts she had pulled in the Iron Woman suit, but he did not know that.

Cap was still smiling slightly, seeming amused by her reaction but also hovering close to her to ensure she did not misstep and tumble out of the tree. He held her bicep in what would have been an aggressive and unwelcome way coming from another man, but from him was clearly born of concern and felt tender.

He guided her up the branch where she found a surprisingly well-formed platform, almost like a cubby house. It was built around the natural curves of the tree, thick branches and tightly woven leaves making it seem cozy.

He jumped deftly passed her, offering both his hands for her to hold as she stepped up onto the soft, padded platform.

He did not release her hands as she stepped forward, drawing her close to him with those deep blue eyes still piercing her soul.

“Nice pad you’ve got here.” She said, reluctantly taking back her hands.

Cap moved to the edge of the shelter, showing her a pulley system he had rigged up to deliver water up from the base, and a small pile of fruit he gestured her toward.

Toni took a deep breath, some of the weight of the day lifting from her shoulders. She had protection, water, food. With the newfound sense of safety, she suddenly felt starving, and so tired.

She took one of the proffered bananas and a drink of water. Cap seemed intent on feeing her up, offering more and more fruit and some kind of root vegetable until she had to wave him away, unable to eat any more even out of gratitude. He seemed to take some pleasure in watching her take her fill. She wondered if this might be some kind of primitive ‘provider’ mindset. She would have to set him straight if he tried to mount her as payment for feeding her.

Probably. Would probably set him straight.

Toni felt her eyelids drooping. She usually had more stamina than this, but the two previous sleepless nights spent tracking the stealth HYDRA team that had created the drone already had her running on low.

Cap immediately picked up on her slowly blinking eyes, gesturing a spot for her to lay down. She did so, keeping her curious eyes on his for as long as she could.

“Thank you. For saving me and helping me. Thank you.” She said softly.

“Thank you.” He repeated in an equally soft but deeper tone.

She chuckled lightly. “No, you say ‘you’re welcome’. I say ‘thank you’, you say ‘you’re welcome’.” She gestured to show who should be saying what.

“You’re welcome.” He parroted obligingly, a small smile and sparkling eyes demonstrating his delight in being able to converse with her. She resolved to teach him a few words tomorrow. She would even avoid the temptation of starting with curse words. The idea of this man saying anything dirty seemed strangely inappropriate.

She let her eyes close, hearing him shift to lay down an arm’s length away from her.

Then she knew no more.


	4. Chapter four

Toni woke to twittering birds, stray rays of sunlight poking through the trees and a handsome, naked man looking at her adoringly.

It may have been the perfect wake-up- if it had not meant that yesterday was not a dream. Cap’s smiling face, as attractive as it was, meant she was indeed stranded in the jungle, no one knew where she was or was able to track her and she had no way of getting back to civilisation, wherever that may be.

Since she was having a rough time, she thought she deserved the odd treat when it presented itself, so she allowed her eyes to roam down Cap’s body. He looked like granite wrapped in smooth, tanned skin. Her fingers itched to wrap around his bicep, or run down his chest and skate over his abs. She could happily go further and certainly would have complete access to do so, seeing as Cap had lost the loin cloth overnight.

“Cap, this is your home and far be it from me to tell anyone how to live. But maybe while you have a guest, you can keep your pet anaconda in its enclosure?” she said dryly, glancing down so he would know she was talking about the ideal-of-manhood he had resting on his thigh.

He followed her glance, looking back up at her curiously before jumping up and grabbing the loin cloth, slipping it back on.

Toni stole one last glance at the profile he cast – perfect glutes and a dick that she would be equal parts intimidated and excited to see at full strength. She took a quick gulp of water, missing her toothbrush. Cap slinked silently to her side, leaving no more than an inch between their bodies as he offered her a shell with a gritty paste in it. He dipped in a finger and scrubbed it over his teeth, indicating for her to do the same.

“Huh. Guess that explains your pearly whites.” She said, smiling at him and helping herself to some au natural toothpaste.

Once they had both spit, Toni opened her mouth to speak, hoping she would be able to convey her need with gestures and not have to humiliate them both by going full mime.

“Cap, can you show me how to get down from here? Without any moves that will further press on my bladder?”

He seemed to get it almost instantly, moving them to the side of the platform where he urged her to wrap her arms around his neck and climb on to his back.

“I swear to God, if you swing me through the trees again, I will not be held accountable for the mess I make of us both.” But she climbed on to him nonetheless. His skin was warm where it pressed against her arms and chest, and she wondered if he had whipped himself up some organic, rainforest Old Spice, because a man that lived like this had no business smelling as good as he did.

He slowly (for her benefit she was sure) climbed down the tree, his flexing shoulders pressed up against her face, making her suppress a smirk.

Once they were on the ground, she hastily ducked behind a tree, slipping her fingers in the bands of her tights to pull them down before she realised that Cap had followed her, wanting to keep her in his eyeline.

“No, I draw the line here. You- stay. Me? I’m going to pee in relative privacy. Stay.” She ordered again before she skipped quickly behind another tree to relieve herself. Thankfully Cap listened this time, his expression tight until she walked back to his side.

“Back to the suit?”

***************************************

He was having fun with Toni.

He hovered around her all day, bringing her water and food, holding parts of her suit still while she worked on them, listening to the almost constant stream of chatter that poured from her mouth. She taught him a whole slew of new words – ‘suit’, ‘drone’, ‘tools’, ‘metal’, ‘toilet’ and ‘kickass’ for example, along with all her names for fruit and almost everything in their eyeline. The more words he learned, the more the buzzing in his head increased, the strange sense that he knew what the word was going to be before she said it.

He was also ever vigilant, tensing at every twig snapping. Nothing bigger than a monkey came anywhere close to them the entire day. Still he stuck close to her, as though being almost pressed against her would allow him to act quick enough in the case of danger. He worried at first that she would find it annoying, would push him away, but she did not. It made him smile and press ever closer.

By the time sunset was approaching, Toni was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, looking red and drained. She had resisted his urging to take breaks, stopping only long enough to eat and drink.

But he knew something that would make her feel better.

He had to be persistent – “you’re worse than Pepper and Rhodey!” she had complained. But eventually she packed up her tools and allowed him to carry her – on the ground, she insisted – to the river.

He picked a beautiful spot, one with a large area of flat rocks he used to lay on, warmed as they were by the afternoon sun but still surrounded by the cool, fresh water.

Toni let out a relieved sigh when she spotted the water, squeezing his shoulders and grinning at him. When he let her down, she was quick to slip off the light material covering her feet, stepping into the bank.

“There’s nothing that will kill me in the water, right? God even if there is, it’s worth it.” She said. She grabbed the material that covered her chest and slipped it off over her head, along with the pants she wore. He gulped nervously as he watched. She still wore form-fitting pieces of material covering her crotch and her breasts – as much as he was dying to see what was under them, he was quick to admit to himself that she looked incredibly appealing standing there almost naked. Her curves looked so soft that he ached to reach out and feel them. He had lifted her and brushed against her all day, but to do so without the light barrier of material between them seemed so very different.

He took up a place protectively by Toni’s right, closer to the jungle’s edge should something try to sneak up on them, but also close enough to grab her if he had to.

She happily splashed the water over herself, moaning at the feel of the cool liquid on her tired body. He watched her helplessly now, the sounds sending clear signals to his cock that something interesting was happing that he had not experienced before but should definitely investigate further.

He tried to cool his excited body in the water, but Toni submerged her head, flipping her short, dark hair up so water sprayed everywhere, droplets clinging to her elegant neck and exposed back. 

He was sure she could feel his eyes drilling into her back, but she did not seem to mind in the least. The third time his eyes darted back to her she looked at him over her shoulder, giving him a sly smile.

The grin and twinkle in her eye caused a surprising bolt of arousal to ricochet through his body. The thought that she _liked_ that he could not tear his eyes away from her exposed body caused his cock to harden to full attention, even as he blushed and averted his gaze.

Did she want him to keep looking at her? Did… might she want him to come closer to her? Perhaps… even touch her?

His stomach was turning with nerves. If he just rested a hand on her back, would it be inappropriate? Or maybe even not clear enough? What if she turned to him and waited on his next move. What would he do next?

He had never even met another person, let alone had the chance to be intimate. He had seen other animals mating, but no matter what angle he looked at Toni, he could not imagine just draping himself over her back and… doing it.

He agonised for so long about his hypothetical proposition that Toni eventually finished splashing around and was wading out of the water.

He scrambled over to help her out of the river and watched as she dried herself with her top and slipped back into her pants. She turned to face him with a smile.

“Take me to bed Cap.”

She raised to arms in a silent invitation for him to pick her up, which he did with relish, holding her tight against his body. He leapt gracefully over the jungle floor, Toni a slight but reassuring weight in his arms.

Once he reached the large tree with their nest, he gently slung Toni over his back and made sure she was holding on tight before he began to climb. She was warm against his skin, except for her wrist which was still decorated in the red metal that matched her suit.

Once on the platform, he urged Toni to take a seat and grabbed some more of the cleaning plant to treat her leg once again, resting it on his lap.

“This isn’t really fair. You should have to pick _one_ fantasy role play – wild man or naughty nurse. Being both is neither fair nor intuitive – clashing genres if you do not mind me saying.” She chattered as he gently inspected her wound. It looked ok, no signs of infection thus far.

Toni continued to speak as he picked up some fragrant leaves, pressing them in his hands to extract the cleansing liquid. “Or maybe this is like the sexual tension scene in a horror movie, where the leads ignore the imminent danger and just fuck, all hot and steamy. I look like I had a recent encounter with Freddy Krueger, so it fits the bill – shit!”

Toni hissed slightly as the liquid hit her wounds, the sting sharp. He looked at her with regret but spread the liquid over the worst of the claw marks. He knew from experience how much it burned, so he raised her calf ever so slightly and blew softly on the red scratches.

She looked at him strangely now, an expression he had not seen before. It was with a head tilt and a slightly furrowed brow, as though she were confused by his actions. However the hint of a smile and wistful look in her eye indicated she liked it?

Toni was a very confusing woman, even when she was not speaking. But he longed to find out more about her.

***************************************

She looked at Cap thoughtfully, trying to figure him out. He was in many ways the definition of an alpha male – demonstrably strong, every bit the provider and protective as hell. But he also wore his heart on his sleeve, his admiration for Toni extremely apparent.

But in these tender moments, it felt like more. He took so much care in how he handled her, always seeking permission before he touched her, listening with rapt attention whenever she spoke as though he could divine the meaning of her words if he just focussed enough. He tended her injury so carefully and when it hurt, it was as though it pained him too. He was not just responsive, he proactively tried to meet her needs, in simple gestures like blowing a soothing, cool breath on to her leg or plying her with food and water like the jungle’s most attentive mother hen.

It was very sweet. He made her feel precious and treasured. 

She was not used to male attention being so… innocent.

Not that it was _all_ innocent. She saw the heat in his eyes when he looked at her sometimes, and there was no mistaking his reaction to her earlier in the water.

“Thank you.” She said softly as he lowered her leg.

“You’re welcome.” He returned with a smile, remembering his short lesson last night.

It was only just twilight, and she was far from ready for sleep. She patted the floor in front of her for him to sit, which he did eagerly and immediately.

She looked at him appraisingly. “You know Florence Nightingale, I haven’t spotted any battle scars on you. Makes me wonder where you got all this practice. See? Scars.” She said, gesturing to her leg, then chest where the arc reactor used to be.

He tilted his head, watching her hand brush against her chest. Figuring the other parts of her chest may be distracting, she reached out to grab his arms, guiding them to be outstretched so she could examine him for a scar to convey her meaning.

She looked.

Impossible. He was spotless.

She trailed her hands over his skin where it was in shadow, in case her eyes were not picking up marks in the low light. She urged him to extend his legs so she could examine them too. Still nothing. And she had been intimately pressed against his back enough to know there were no scars there.

“What… you are flawless. Literally. There’s no way living out here that-” She started to say to him, confused. She met his eyes and was abruptly cut off, pulled out of her curiosity when she saw his lust-filled gaze. She could not help but shiver at the intense look he gave her.

Slowly he moved his hands to her arms, tracing his fingertips around her bicep and trailing them slowly down. He intently mapped out her body with his hands, tracing almost the exact same path she had used in examining him.

 _He must think this was some kind of ritual and now he’s trying to imitate it_ she thought dazedly. But surely she had not been this sensual? And she definitely had not maintained this heavy eye contact while she touched him.

He finished his path at her ankles but was reluctant to withdraw entirely. She raised her hand to brush a lock of blonde hair over his ear, pausing there. He slowly raised his hand to do the same, tenderly brushing her short hair back.

“Hair.” She said softly, tugging lightly on his locks.

“Hair.” He repeated, tangling his hand in her messy cropped style.

She slid her hand slowly down to rest it against the side of his neck. She saw the small shiver it elicited, feeling a smug sense of satisfaction at his responsiveness.

“Neck.”

His calloused hands mirrored hers, warm hand resting on her vulnerable throat, repeating “Neck.”

She continued to guide him in this intimate lesson, dragging her fingertips with an unnecessarily teasing touch over various parts of his body and naming them.

“Lips.” She finally finished, brushing her thumb over his soft bottom lip.

“Lips.” He whispered back to her. She did not need to look down again to see the response he was having to her game. It was the one body part she had reluctantly missed on her mapping.

As his thumb grazed her lip, she pressed her lips to it in a light kiss.

“Kiss.” She said. She removed her hand, leaning forward to softly press her lips to his in a chaste kiss. “Kiss.” She repeated, leaning back.

Cap was breathing heavier now, his eyes intent on her lips.

He leaned forward, eyes darting up to hers to see if she would stop him.

He pressed his lips back to hers for a longer time, withdrawing slightly but still leaning into her space.

“Kiss.” He breathed against her lips.

She raised her hands to cup his cheeks, drawing him back to her lips. She kept it sweet, slowly moving her lips against his, letting her bottom lip be drawn into his tentative movements as he got the hang of it. When she drew back, he let out a soft sound, making her smile.

“Kiss.” She said again. She pressed on his shoulder gently to encourage him to sit again, which he did with a little reluctance.

“Mmmmm, I would love to explain hand-jobs to you right now, but it seems unwise to add any more complicating elements to this situation. Pepper would be so proud of my restraint.” She said to him.

He continued to look at her somewhat desperately.

“Doesn’t seem fair though.” She said contemplatively. “Why don’t we lay down?”

She nudged him backwards and moved to what seemed to be the sleeping zone of his shelter.

He followed her and let her manoeuvre him in to laying close to her. He propped himself up on an elbow, leaning close to her, eyes flicking to her lips and body clearing thrumming with anticipation of what she would show him next.

Toni bit her lip, sorely tempted to just climb on top of him and take care of his arousal herself. But there were just too many variables and complications for that to be a good idea. She did not know how he would respond, they had no contraception and no timeline for when it was likely she would even see another human. What if introducing sex to their relationship made it sour? She resolved herself to be more restrained tomorrow, but for now…

Toni placed a hand on his shoulder, gently urging him to lay on his back. Next she wrapped her fingers around his wrist, bringing it slowly down so his hand covered the sizeable tent in his now almost redundant loin cloth.

She gave him a meaningful look and scooted back a few inches, finally nodding to let him know that it was alright, she wanted him to take care of himself.

He hesitantly rubbed himself over the material, eyes pinned on Toni’s face. She tried to remain encouraging but impassive, if there were such an expression.

The message must have translated because he drew back and in a graceful movement, removed the material covering what was left of his modesty and wrapping his hand around himself.

Toni could not help but stare at the image he painted. He was large, perfectly proportionate to the rest of his powerful body. Also consistent was how flawless his hard cock was. The shape, length, girth, the head now visible though he was uncut… Toni almost wanted to laugh at how his handsomeness translated to every part of him, but she was too enthralled in how he was touching himself.

He stroked himself with a firm grip, capturing the fluid at the tip and working it down the rigid shaft. Toni absently wet her lips as she watched. This triggered an immediate response in Cap, a low noise coming from his chest, his hand speeding up before he choked out her name.

“Toni…” he said, not sure what he was asking of her.

Her gaze flicked back to his face. He had not stopped watching her this whole time.

His other hand twitched where it lay awkwardly next to him, his fist clenching as he seemed to struggle to not reach out. To not touch her, not without her invitation.

 _A little harmless handholding while he’s jerking off surely wouldn’t be pushing the envelope too far?_ She internally justified.

She ran her fingers down his arm, watching him shiver in response until she came to his hand which eagerly encompassed hers.

Toni knew that if he tried to draw her hand over to his erection she would happily take over, but he did not. He held her hand tightly, his other hand speeding up, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he approached his peak.

“You’re so beautiful.” She whispered heatedly. His eyelids fluttered slightly at her tone, but he forced them back open to watch her. His hand squeezed hers in what she took as a silent request to keep talking.

“You are a fucking work of art baby. Unbelievably hot, running around with just that little loin cloth and built like a Greek god. You know how much I want to lay you out and show you everything you’ve been missing all this time alone in the jungle? I think we’d have a lot of fun testing your stamina.” She whispered hotly to him, basking in the adoration in his eyes as he hung on her every word.

He was on the edge now, the muscles in his arm bunching as he jerked himself rapidly.

“Toni, Toni…” he was chanting under his breath, which was very flattering and very hot.

She abruptly decided that since she had already kissed him, it could hardly be counted as an escalation now. So she surged forward, capturing Cap’s lips in a hard kiss.

He groaned loudly, his lips going slack after a moment and parting as he panted out his pleasure.

She let him have a second, but then demandingly nipped his bottom lip, drawing him back to into a kiss. She really should let him catch his breath, but his lips were so soft and he responded so sweetly…

She reluctantly withdrew, sitting back to observe his dazed expression, slightly puffed up lips surrounded by his scruffy beard and when her eyes travelled lower, streaks of pearly liquid decorating his stomach and a still half-hard cock loosely held in his large hand.

“Good show.” She said with a smile, relaxing back but still keeping her appreciative gaze on Cap.

He smiled back at her, practically with stars in his eyes.

Toni needed to remember that this was a man with no exposure to people, a virgin with a crush on the first pretty woman he’d come across. It screamed ‘feelings’ and ‘angst’ in the coming days when she inevitably jump-started her suit for someone to find her.

But how was she going to resist that face?


	5. Chapter five

He had never felt anything like this. Everything Toni did was amazing to him. He strongly suspected that if he met a million women, none would come close to Toni Stark.

He watched her now, the way she manipulated the hard metal with her hands, pulling it apart and twisting the tiny wires together so deftly. He had realised yesterday that this red suit was her creation. She knew every part of it, all the intricate pieces underneath the hard exterior. The other white shell was not hers, but still she disassembled it efficiently, seemingly able to determine what parts should be cast aside and what parts could be used with a glance.

The other case she had not opened and warned him not to touch.

She chattered the whole time, and even let him help. He pried apart metal for her, held parts steady, acting as her third arm. Each time she smiled and thanked him, and he felt useful and valuable.

And he had figured out that when he said “you’re welcome”, he was also allowed to lean forward and kiss her.

The kissing was… wow.

She tasted even better than she smelled. The softness of her lips, the little sighs and moans made his heart flutter every time without fail.

And with what he learned this morning…

He had taken her once again to the river, so they could refresh themselves before a day in the hot sun and humid air. He had taken his place protecting her back, watching her as she rolled her shoulders, tipping her head back in relief at the coolness of the water.

He took a deep breath, gathering his courage, and stepped forward to press his front gently against her back. He had remained tense, ready to jump back if she snarled or chastised him in any way.

She had not.

Toni turned in his arms, her small, clever hands reaching up to hold his jaw, pulling him down to meet her lips. His hands raised to hold her waist, enjoying the gentle movement of her lips.

Then her tongue peeked out, grazing the seam of his lips.

He followed her lead, opening his mouth to let her tongue playfully stroke against his and draw him out. He mirrored her movements, Toni making soft, pleased noises when he did something particularly right which energised him and made his groin throb.

He let out a ragged groan when she pressed forward, causing his hardness to dig into her belly.

“God, you… You could tempt a saint. How am I, of all people, supposed to resist you?” she asked against his lips.

She had moved one bold hand to his rear, firmly pulling him forward and rolling her body, the sensation of friction sending sparks through his body.

He followed the movements of her body, rolling his hips in likeness. He groaned once more, Toni burying her face in his neck and nipping at the skin there.

“Toni!” he gasped, his cock jumped at the sensation of lips and teeth on his skin.

“Fuck it. We’ll call this educational. Every boy should experience rubbing off against someone and coming in their pants… or loin cloth, whatever is on hand…” she said to him, bringing her other hand down to his backside and encouraging the movement of his hips.

“Just like that… does that feel good? … fuck it, here…” her hands abruptly pulled at the cloth wrapped around his hips, his erection springing back up to press into her stomach. At the feel of skin-on-skin he let out a wounded noise, pressing more urgently into Toni’s belly, the movement of his hips becoming erratic as he quickly approached the edge.

It took four more thrusts forward and Toni’s nails digging into his hip for him to come, spilling on to Toni’s skin and crying out. She kept guiding him through it, letting him grip her more roughly than before and rub his still twitching cock through the mess he had made.

When the waves died down, he did not release her put rather wrapped his arms fully around her waist, embracing her and nuzzling into her hair.

“Thank you.” He said, sounding gruff even to his own ears.

Toni chuckled against his chest, pulling back to smile at him.

“This is not really the sort of thing you say ‘thank you’ for, but you’re welcome.” She replied.

His head had been partially stuck in that moment all day, reliving the pleasure of being in her arms over and over even while he luxuriated in her presence now. Still he kept a portion of his senses tuned to their surrounds, feeling more protective of this woman than ever before.

His heart fluttered as she looked at him now, her face shiny with sweat, a black mark sweeping her forehead and a bright grin stretching across her face. 

“Cap, we have officially made progress. With the wiring reconfigured to power just the GPS and the comms and the drone’s battery hooked up, I just need to set up the relay so Jarvis can use the jump-start to start cycling power back through the suit. You could be meeting Jarvis as early as tomorrow morning!”

She sat back, rolling her shoulders in an exaggerated movement, a popping sound coming from her joints after being bent over the suit for so long.

He moved toward her, placing himself behind her to rub gently on her shoulders, wanting to ease the tense muscles.

She let out a loud, decadent moan, giving herself over to his massaging hands.

“Oh my God, you _are_ perfect. I knew it.” She said, her head lolling on her shoulders.

“A bit harder. Harder.” She repeated the word, reaching over to press down on his thumbs to dig into her muscles.

“Perfect.” She sighed, her pleasure apparent.

He felt himself growing hard again but did not press against her. He wanted to keep making her feel good. He rubbed up and down her back, focussing on the spots where she responded loudest.

Toni turned, resting her hands on his thighs.

“You know what? There’s nothing else I can do here right now. Let’s go to the river and cool down. Then we can celebrate the strides we’ve made.” She said, leaning forward to steal a kiss before she jumped up, energised. She extended a hand to help him stand up. He certainly did not need it, but happily grasped her hand nonetheless.

“Alley-oop!” she said joyfully, jumping on his back to pointing him toward the river.

Once there she quickly stripped, this time removing everything except the scrap of black material she called ‘panties’.

He stared wide eyed at her bare chest, his eyes drawn to the rosy nipples that sat so perfectly on her bosom. They moved hypnotizingly as Toni quickly rinsed her clothes in the water before laying them out to dry across the rocks.

Once done, she waded into the water and beckoned him to come to her. He was already half-hard, eyes darting all over her body.

“You like them huh? I guess some things are universal. You can touch them if you like…” Toni said, her hands trailing over her breasts, nails briefly brushing over her nipples, causing them to stand further to attention.

He loudly exhaled at the sight, swaying forward unthinkingly.

He raised his hands and cupped her breasts, delighting in their mass and quickly assessing how he might handle them that would make her feel good. They felt so soft and his hands were so rough, the last thing he wanted was to cause her discomfort.

She laid her hands over his, encouraging him to feel their weight, squeeze them slightly and use his thumbs to brush over her nipples. He licked his lips, entranced by the way they filled his palms and the feeling of her nipples responding to his touch.

“You can if you want? Lick them.” She whispered, running her thumb over his bottom lip to indicate what she meant.

His head was buzzing with all the stimuli. The cool water to his knees, the faint sound of their combined breathing, the heat of Toni’s skin in his hands, the smell of Toni’s hair as he nuzzled the side of her face, the shiver of anticipation as he moved his lips lower, the snapping of a branch behind them…

He spun around.

***************************************

One moment Toni had a mesmerised, gorgeous man quivering in her hands. The next he had let her go abruptly, spinning around with an agitated huff, his eyes on the tree line.

She froze in response to the tension in his frame. She dared not breathe, the hairs on the back of her neck rising and feeling incredibly vulnerable to be without her suit, caught out literally in her underwear.

All of a sudden Cap was a flurry of movement, turning around and grabbing her. Though his abrupt movement knocked the air from her lungs, she automatically wrapped her arms around his neck. His powerful legs took them to the river bank, taking long strides toward a large tree north of their position.

From over his shoulder, Toni saw what they were fleeing from come crashing through the tree line.

A massive silverback gorilla burst through the leaves with a bone-rattling roar. It reared up when it caught sight of their rapidly retreating forms, thumping on its chest and roaring again.

“Holy shit!” Toni wheezed, clutching tighter to Cap and immeasurably grateful once again that he was here. He launched them up the trunk of the tree, leveraging the vines to carry them quickly away from the territorial beast.

The echoes of the gorilla’s bellowing followed them through the jungle as Cap carried them away at a brutal speed, Toni’s joints aching from how tightly she held on to his shoulders.

After a couple of minutes he slowed, standing on a wide branch and wrapping a comforting arm around her back. His sharp eyes surveyed the jungle beneath them, ensuring the gorilla did not give chase.

“What… the fuck… this fucking place…” Toni panted. She pointed from the direction they came from. “Are there any more wild fucking animals set on killing me? Is it normal to be attacked this often? I mean, I’m attacked pretty often but that’s a professional hazard. This feels more personal.”

Cap seemed satisfied they had made a thorough escape, following her pointed finger with his eyes.

“Not family.” He said grimly.

Toni froze.

She had never said that to him.

“You… ‘not family’? You mean that gorilla was not your family?” she asked, confused.

Cap just nodded.

“Implying… some gorilla out there IS your family?” she continued.

Cap looked back at her. “Family.” He said, pointing out west, a different direction from where they had been for the past few days.

Toni processed this new information. Cap had not been as alone as she had imagined. The thought actually gave her some comfort, as bewildering as imagining living among a group of gorillas was.

“Ok Jane Goodall. Is it safe to go back to your shelter?”

Cap recognised the word ‘shelter’. “Yes. Home.”

He swept her back up into his arms, swinging them more sedately through the vines.

She had not taught him ‘home’ either.

The more the mystery of this man unfolded, the more complex it grew. And it seemed like he remembered more about being a man, of his origins, than either of them gave him credit for.


	6. Chapter six

The adrenalin of their close call had mostly faded by the time they sat in Cap’s shelter, finishing their dinner of yet more fruit. Toni guessed that Cap usually ate more protein than this, observing his muscles, but he had not parted himself from her long enough to hunt or forage for anything more complex.

When you were Iron Woman, number one target for terrorists, super villains and all sorts of baddies, you learned to bounce back from potentially traumatic incidents pretty quickly. She reclined against one of the pillars and observed Cap with a smile, putting the murderous ape incident behind her.

Cap had been watching her intently since their return, the look fading from vigilant worry to lust the more she visibly relaxed. Her breasts remained on show, her clothes lost back at the river.

Though still slightly distracted (first by the gorilla and increasingly by her nipples), Cap enjoyed their little language lessons she had been giving him over food. She felt carving out the alphabet on a banana skin was pretty resourceful. The speed at which he was picking it up further fueled her suspicions that his past was not entirely lost to him, but she did not want to push him too fast. Years without human company and some kind of amnesia were pretty traumatic and she couldn’t risk him getting upset and running away or lashing out at her.

 _Avoiding risk? Pfft, I immediately abandoned plans to not introduce a sexual element to our relationship_ she thought wryly. Had she stuck it out even 24 hours before getting him to paint her belly with come?

Weak sinner she may be, never let it be said that she did not know how to show a man a good time, feral virgin or otherwise.

“It was a pretty rude interruption back there. I thought we were getting to some good stuff.” She said, running her hands up her body, putting on a show for Cap. He crouched forward slightly, reminding her momentarily of a cat about to pounce. But she was far from afraid.

“Come over here.” She said huskily.

Cap moved on all fours over to her side, leaning over her to cage her in to the corner of the platform she was by. His imposing bulk was even more of a turn on, making her feel delicate and petite while knowing she still held so much power over this inexperienced but eager man.

“Kiss.” She ordered.

His wide hands immediately cupped her jaw, his lips covering hers fully. He quickly introduced his tongue, Toni pleased that he had taken his lessons so seriously.

He moved so gracefully for someone of his bulk, managing to press the top part of his torso to hers. She gripped his wrists, moving them away from her face which made him pause his kiss.

She moved his hands back to her breasts.

He let out a guttural sigh, moulding his hands to their shape. Still he pressed against her, his forehead resting against hers even as he tried to watch his thumbs brush over her nipples. She held his head in her hands and gently urged it down.

Cap moved where she bid, his tongue tentatively flicking her right nipple, looking up to watch her reactions intently. She moaned softly, letting him know he was on the right track.

He flattened his tongue against her before sucking gently, making Toni moan encouragingly and clench her fingers in his hair. He excitedly moved to her other nipple, tweaking the wet one he left behind, causing her to jolt slightly.

“I think I know something else your tongue and fingers would be good for if you’d like to try?” she whispered hotly.

She pressed him back slightly, giving her just enough room to lay on her back, slipping off her panties from the cage of his arms placed around her.

He followed her movements like a magnet, sitting back to examine the apex of her thighs. She parted her legs ever so slightly in invitation, to see if he showed any hesitation. His nostrils flared and he leaned forward, staring at her.

“Toni?” he asked gutturally, looking up to meet her eyes. “Please.”

Toni bit her lip, a shiver of anticipation going through her.

“Ok Cap.” She said, stroking the side of his face. He leaned into it like a cat, chasing her affection before he moved his head to her crotch, once again inhaling deeply.

Toni parted her legs fully, dipping a hand down to introduce him.

“Here – this is my clit. Use your lips, your tongue.” She said, tracing lightly across her clit but still with enough pressure to make herself shiver slightly. He tilted his head in fascination at her reaction, already raising a hand to her pussy.

“And this, baby, this is my cunt. Feel that, how I’m wet? You can slip your fingers in here.” She said a little breathlessly, her finger tracing of her entrance.

Cap’s finger followed hers, brushing over her to feel the wetness there.

His head dipped forward, his tongue peeking out to taste her.

Toni sighed happily, withdrawing to let him explore.

His curious tongue traced her lips, quickly seeking out her clit. He licked over it, closely in tune with her responses to follow what gave her the most pleasure.

Toni knew he was a fast learner, but this was remarkable. Every cue, every sigh or nudge was followed eagerly. He applied a fast, off-centre rubbing of his tongue that had her climbing quickly her to peak, alternating with leisurely sucking that seemed to do as much for him as for her.

There was definitely something to be said for having someone so dedicated to your pleasure, nothing to show off, no ulterior motive, just wanting her to feel _good_.

“ _Mmmhmmmm_ there… God baby, perfect… keep going, just like that… _nnghh_ … give me… a finger…” she panted. 

He glanced up at her through his lashes, his lips still sucking lightly on her clit, making her wetter and wetter.

She shivered at the picture he painted, his pupils entirely black with lust as he pushed one finger inside of her.

He groaned at the sensation, his eyes closing and mouth halting for a moment before he returned to flicking her clit with his tongue.

“Do… like this…” she said, crooking her finger in a mime of what she needed him to do.

He crooked his finger as shown, her tight, wet channel clenching on the single digit.

“Fuck! I’m close…” Toni moaned, the combination of his clever mouth and fingers making her thighs twitch and her hands clench in his hair.

He sucked on her clit and when he added a second finger, the stretch perfect, and she came with a high moan.

He clenched his eyes shut at the sound and licked her through it, drawing out the hot waves of pleasure until she was shaky, her hands weakly pushing at his head until he stopped.

She sighed happily. “Perfect baby.”

He pulled his head back, keeping his fingers inside her to feel the pulsing of her orgasm die down, licking his lips to chase the taste of her as he leaned back to take her in. Still bent over her hips, his roaming gaze was hot and yearning.

He gently withdrew his fingers, sucking on them with a reverence that could make even Toni blush.

Then with a quick glance to her face, he tugged himself out of the material that covered his erection and began to stroke himself roughly. He helplessly buried his head in her lap again, inhaling hungrily and growling low in his chest.

“Why don’t you come up here and let me do that?” she asked, tugging on his shoulders. But it was too late. He was groaning out his release, panting in her lap with his spare hand still clutching her hip.

“Toni…” he murmured in awe as he climbed over her body, holding his weight off her as he kissed her thoroughly. She definitely had pegged him right as a post-coital cuddler.

“Again?” he asked.

**********************************************

Teaching Cap about oral sex may have been a mistake.

It was all he wanted to do.

He brought her off another three times that night, almost reluctant to let her touch him in return in case it got in the way of his opportunity to have his head buried in her lap.

He woke her up the next morning gently, seeking her permission before licking his way into her pussy.

They ate, cleaned their teeth, then he wanted to do it again.

She was happy to oblige.

He had left her for a little while after that, returning with her clothes they had to abandon by the river the day before. They were crumpled and the top streaked with mud from where the gorilla must have thrown them around, but better than risking sunburn on more sensitive areas.

Cap had behaved himself while she worked on the suit, the charge of the battery going a lot slower than she liked. But when he stopped her for lunch, he ran a hand down her side, eyes twinkling as they asked for permission.

“Again? I’m not complaining, but you know you don’t have to do this right?” she asked.

She didn’t know how much of her message of consent got through, but judging by the eager way he urged her to wrap her legs around his head and the noises he made when he fingered her open, she figured it was safe to say his services were all voluntary.

His attentions were a balm to the suit maintenance of the day. She thought she had been close to hearing Jarvis’ voice today, and she had not realised how many hopes she had stacked on that until it became obvious late afternoon that it was not going to happen.

“Toni, going to be ok.” Cap told her as she threw down one of the circuit boards from the drone. It was a mantra she had said multiple times in front of him, though it did sound reassuring coming from his lips.

“Smart. You will fix this.” She looked at him curiously. Again, these were words she had used in front of him, but the way he strung it together…

“You’re really grasping English quickly. Almost like you’ve heard it before…” she said.

Cap frowned slightly at her suggestion. He seemed to contemplate her words, like he understood them, but a second later he shook his head like he was clearing it.

Her suspicions increased.

“Break. Bathe.” He said, gently touching her arm.

“Mmm. How sure are you that the river is clear of unfriendlies? No more grumpy gorillas?” she asked, letting him help her to her feet. Her leg was doing much better by now, but she liked when Cap acted the gentleman.

Cap smiled. “Keep you safe.” He stroked her cheek tenderly, smiling at her with such a soft, fond expression.

Toni’s heart stopped.

She knew he was protective of her and had a major crush, probably experiencing all sorts of new romantic and sexual feelings. His adoration was worn on his non-existent sleeve. But the honest sincerity with which he promised her safety – like he was prince charming from a Disney movie, like he would let no harm come to her while he still drew breath…

Well, he had proven that before they had even met.

It truly sunk in that moment. This man loved her.

He was so earnest, so upfront, so sweet and unselfish in his affection. Toni knew instinctively that he would do anything for her, anything to keep her safe and make her happy.

Toni did not think anyone had ever felt that way about her.

“Ok.” She said softly, not quite trusting herself to say anything else.

How did she handle this? How did she _feel_ about this?

Toni did not have the headspace for feelings right now. She would deal with that when (1) the suit was fixed and rescue was on the way or (2) when the suit was beyond hope and she had to fashion her own loin cloth so she could spend the rest of her days in the wild, swinging from vines and never touching another piece of technology again. She was pretty positive she would only last a few weeks in the jungle after going native, so it’s not like a lifetime commitment would be a tough call if the latter option came to pass.

So she let him carry her to the river.

The had a drink, splashed around and followed it up with guess what? More oral.

**********************************************

He woke up before Toni the next morning, as he always did. He slipped away to collect some fresh water and something to eat before slipping quietly back to her side. He examined her fondly, the little puffs of breath as she slept were so adorable to him.

He ran a light finger down the bridge of her nose, a gentle tickle to wake her slowly. Her nose twitched in response. He did it again and this time her brow furrowed, an uncoordinated hand coming up to bat away the irritant. He smiled. She was almost awake.

Now he leaned forward to lightly peck the tip of her nose, moving back to watch her eyes open slowly to the morning light.

“Mmph, must you be so happy in the mornings?” she asked grumpily.

She was cranky in the mornings. It was very cute.

Cap let her come to terms with the new day slowly, rubbing her eyes and stretching her lithe body. His eyes followed the movement, catching as they always did on her bare breasts. His gaze finally rested on the small thatch of hair covering her womanhood. He licked his lips, wondering if it would be too pushy to ask her already if he could taste her.

She chuckled warmly.

“It’s like a perverted version of breakfast in bed. Get to it big guy.” Toni crossed her arms behind her head, confidently presenting her body to Cap.

He grinned, quickly situating himself between her legs. He swiftly licked inside, savouring the feel of her opening for him, the pleased sigh that fell from her lips. He flicked his tongue up to massage her clit while his finger gently slid inside her.

 _He was getting good at this_ he thought, pleased with himself. He may be addicted to the sensation of her coming against his lips. He felt that if he went too long without hearing her sounds of pleasure, he may waste away.

He played at teasing her this morning, getting her close, hearing her moan and pant before backing off, keeping his touch too light for her to finish.

After the third time pushing her to the edge, Toni groaned.

“Who taught you to be such a tease? Because it wasn’t me.” She said weakly, tugging on his hair as though to punish him. It felt amazing.

He licked down to her entrance, darting in with his tongue. She was practically dripping. A groan ripped from his throat. His tongue messily made its way back to her clit, rubbing her just right.

Toni moaned loudly. “Yessss, there, Cap… _fuck_!”

He had quickly pushed two fingers back into her, scissoring them slightly to fill her up.

“Yes! God, yes baby, perfect… _ahhhh_ … oh, oh, OHHH I’m-“ Toni’s hips pushing up impatiently before she cried out, clenching hard on his fingers. Her clit throbbed under his tongue, which he flattened against her to draw out her orgasm, just like she told him. Her smooth thighs clamped around his head as he crooked his fingers once more, feeling merciless and impatient to keep her going, to string out this moment for as long as possible.

He was gentling as she relaxed her thighs to release him. He felt somewhat light-headed, his eyes drawn to the rise and fall of her bare chest as she caught her breath.

“Stop.” She said abruptly.

He froze immediately.

“You’re always getting yourself off. Let me?” she said gesturing him up.

He realised he had automatically wrapped a hand around himself. He reluctantly let go, moving where she urged.

Toni pushed him firmly on to his back, kissing him deeply. Then her hand, slick with her own wetness, wrapped around his erection.

He cried out roughly, the feel of her smaller, softer hand on him almost making him come immediately.

“Toni…” he ground out, eyes darting down to watch her clever hand stroke him. She seemed to know exactly what would make him feel good. She thumbed the sensitive part under his head, then wrapped her fingers around him for short, firm strokes. Her focus on his sensitive cockhead was perfect, sending sparks up his spine.

“Do you want my mouth?” she asked him seductively.

The thought of her lips kissing him there practically _scorched_ his mind and before he could even hope to respond, he was coming.

He shot white streams over her hand and his own stomach, pumping his hips into her grip where she held him through his orgasm. He grunted through it, grabbing her and hauling her almost on top of him to capture her lips. The kiss was rather messy but perfect.

“Perfect.” He echoed aloud, enjoying the smile that lit up her beautiful face.

Just perfect.


	7. Chapter eight

He watched her worriedly.

Toni had been descending rapidly into a foul mood from when almost the first moment she starting working on the suit this morning. She had taken to muttering angrily under her breath, his sensitive ears picking up mostly curse words.

“This is not fucking working!” she spat, looking more defeated than he had seen her before.

“I don’t have anything I need. How am I supposed to make this work without parts? I can’t MacGyver goddam jungle flora in to suit components!” She continued, her breathing picking up as she ran an anxious hand over her chest as though it were aching.

“Can I help?” he asked earnestly, sensing her stress increasing by the moment.

“Not unless you have a secret lab somewhere full of circuit boards and a power source.” She said, indicating the pile of metal ‘garbage’ she had called it before.

“Maybe…” she said, looking apprehensively over at the case she had told him to not, under any circumstances, open.

He felt anxiety clawing at his throat. He did not want to talk about it, he hated thinking about it… but she was so upset, ready to risk something that obviously scared her and if he said nothing, it would be a betrayal.

He cleared his throat.

“Parts. Toni come.” His voice sounded weak to his ears.

“Cap… I’m really not in the right headspace for a mood-boosting trip ok.” She said tiredly.

“Toni, come.” He said firmly.

She looked up at him curiously, and he thought she was going to argue with him. But eventually she just sighed, letting him help her up before he swung her into his arms.

Holding her like this actually helped settle his nerves as he set out. The place was several miles away, so he climbed into the canopy.

“Hold.” He said, urging her to tighten her grip.

“Shit. Ok just… let’s not set too murderous a pace, I’m more in to kick boxing than the ropes course.” She said, wrapping herself more tightly around his torso.

He launched them into the trees as smoothly as he could manage, lopping through the vines at a leisurely pace (for him). He grew more and more edgy the closer they got, but this was for Toni. He pressed on.

Eventually they reached their destination. He had not been here for years, but the location was always keenly at the forefront of his mind.

“What…” Toni was shocked speechless, which may have been a first.

She looked up at the metal structure, shrouded in vines and moss from the last twenty years of neglect. The windscreen was now opaque in addition to being heavily cracked, so they could not see what it looked like inside.

After a few moments of stunned silence, Toni turned to him.

“This is an early prototype of a quinjet.” She said softly.

He clenched his jaw. The word ‘quinjet’ sparked something in his memory, a phantom sensation of pain shooting through his head. He avoided her eye contact, but also could not bring himself to be the first to move towards the cabin.

She stepped forward slowly to the side of the craft. The side was ajar, as he remembered. He took a deep breath, reaching out to touch Toni’s arm. She paused, looking at him. He stepped forward. He would not allow her to step forward into a confined area with who knows what in it.

After he was sure she was staying put, he stepped into the cabin.

Certainly animals, likely small monkeys playing, had been in here. But it was now empty of life.

It looked as he remembered. His first memory.

 _“Cap… Cap…”_ he could almost hear a phantom voice, as though it was being said a great distance away.

He clenched his fists, shifting his weight nervously, but eventually leaned out of the cabin to beckon Toni in.

She walked in quickly, making a beeline to the control panel. She dug out a screwdriver she always kept on the gauntlet on her person and opened up a panel almost on the underside.

She muttered to herself as she shifted through the wires, stripping back casing, popping up to tap gauges and open another control panel hidden in the left side of the cabin.

He stood back, watching tensely.

Eventually a beeping sounded and Toni let out a whoop.

“Yes! There’s still juice left! Cap, this is it. This is what I needed to get the suit working and get back to the world. In fact, it will be quicker to send a transmission from here rather than fix the suit. I just need to cannibalise some of this radio equipment…” Toni turned to look at him, her voice trailing off as she saw the expression on his face.

He was frowning deeply, his breath coming a bit quicker. Being in here made him feel claustrophobic, the weight of memories making it hard to breathe. Pain, fear, a crippling sense of being entirely _alone_ clawed at him where he stood.

And Toni had said ‘get back to the world’.

She was going to use this machine to leave him.

He had led her right to his own sad ending.

“Cap, what’s wrong? Is it… do you have bad memories here? I’m sorry baby, it must have been a rough crash landing…” she said soothingly, running her hands up and down his arms to calm him.

“But this is good. This will let me call for help. And Cap… you were military. You might not remember it, but this is a SHIELD-built aircraft. I don’t know how someone as young as you would have been flying such an old model… but this is the biggest clue to your past! There will be files on you, people you knew to help you remember who you are.” She said excitedly.

‘People you knew…’. The image of the dark-haired man hit him like a tonne of bricks. A group of men, dirty and tired but laughing. A red-haired woman looking at him with a slight upturn of her painted red lips. A metal disc in red and blue – no not a disc, a… shield?

His head hurt, like razor blades were attached to these ghosts that swam in his vision.

“No.” he growled, pacing agitatedly, holding his temples and trying to shake away the feelings.

“Cap, I know it’s a lot, but this is who you are. Cap probably isn’t even your name – you were probably a captain. Don’t you want to know who you are? Where you come from? We can find out, I can get you answers-“

He could not listen any more. He could not _be here_ anymore.

He did something then that he never did, that he could not have even imagined doing.

He turned around and ran, leaving Toni behind.

**************************************

“Wait!” Toni called desperately to Cap’s rapidly retreating back.

It was no use, he was out of sight before she finished the word.

“Shit.”

 _Brilliant Toni. Truly. Why do you have to push til it hurts?_ She thought to herself.

She had noticed the look on his face, his discomfort to be in the place where what must have been the most traumatic experience of his life occurred, and she celebrated. She pushed him to remember, assumed he must have wanted the gaps in his memory filled. She craved knowledge like oxygen and she had just assumed he was the same.

But would he?

He seemed content here, happy. And Toni knew better than most that time in service, that time with SHIELD, was hardly rainbows and sunshine.

She sighed in frustration. There was no use trying to follow him. She would get lost in moments and with her luck, be attacked by an anaconda or panther or something equally as exotic and deadly. She would stay here and hope he came back for her before her water ran out or a jungle animal found her regardless of the crude shelter.

She may as well fill her time with work.

**************************************

He ran for a while, trying to outrun the memories assaulting his senses.

 _Captain_. It sounded so familiar.

 _Captain America_ he heard.

Was that him?

He felt so lost. He wanted familiarity, security, the bliss of ignorance back.

He found his Family.

They were as they always were. Foraging, grooming. The young ones played in the safety of the circle of the females. Sister welcomed him back with a coo, tapping his arm to turn around so she could groom him. Another Sister leaned against his leg.

The comforting warmth of his family was soothing, but it did not fill the gap he felt inside himself.

The last several days with Toni were unlike any he remembered. They spoke, they laughed, they learned about each other, they pleasured each other. Being with her felt fulfilling in a way he had never even known he was missing.

But with her – with humans and machines – came his past. He felt the scrambled mess of memories now, still not straight or clear but pouring back into him nonetheless.

He had always thought of his past as emptiness, as darkness and solitude and pain. Even in dreams, in nightmares that took him to places that bore no resemblance to the jungle, he felt pain. He felt small and weak, misunderstood and so heavy. Heavy like he had something to do but couldn’t, heavy like he was failing.

He had always shied away from those feelings, pushing them away when he woke up shaking or panting.

Now he could not avoid them.

 _“I’m going to have to put it in the water.”_ Cut through his thinking.

He whined. Sister sensed his distress and moved closer to him.

Was there anything good? Anything even remotely like Toni in his past?

Again, his thoughts strayed to the faces that were coming back to him. He felt a sudden swell of protectiveness and affection go through him when a sharp image of the dark-haired man in a crisp, green uniform surfaced.

_“I’m with you, til the end of the line.”_

He focussed on that face, on that voice. That was someone he should remember, he knew it.

 _Sister_ the thought came to him. No, not quite.

Brother.

That was it.

He had family.

He looked around.

He loved his Family, they looked after him and he looked after them.

But he knew deep down that he was not meant to be with him.

He belonged with the people of his past. He belonged with Toni.

Who he had left alone and defenseless in the cabin of the broken down quinjet.

He leaped to his feet, startling his Sisters who protested his sudden movement.

He did not run off straight away. He touched his knuckles gently to theirs, to all his Siblings that he had lived with for so long. He suspected this may be the last time he saw them.

But he could not linger much longer.

He had to get to Toni.

**************************************

It took him a torturous amount of time to get back to the quinjet. He pushed himself as hard as he could, but still his vision swam with memories which made it difficult to focus on the path forward.

He was panting and sweating heavily by the time he got back, bursting in through the wall to ensure that Toni was still there, was still safe.

“Cap! You’re back. Shit, I’ve never seen you panting before, did you do a lap of the continent-“

He cut her off, wrapping her in a tight hug.

“I’m sorry.” He said into her hair.

“Hey big guy, it’s ok. I should be the one saying sorry, I shouldn’t have pushed you the way I did. I understand there are probably a lot of painful memories here and I rubbed your face in them.” She said, running a soothing hand up and down his back.

When he finally felt ready to let Toni go, he stepped back, surveying what she had done to the quinjet. The console was in a hundred pieces scattered around.

“It might look like a mess, but there’s some rhyme to it. I’m separating all the- well, it doesn’t matter. I think I can probably manufacture enough to get a long-distance signal wrangled. But um…” she hesitated for a moment.

“I might need you to take me back to the suit? Using the battery relay will save me days of work here…”

He hated the hesitation in her voice, like she felt that she could not ask him anything that was within his power to deliver.

“Yes. I will take you. Whatever you need.” He did not know where the words came from – stilted as they were, it was the longest sentence he had been able to string together where he knew exactly what he was saying.

Toni seemed equally shocked. She opened her mouth, presumably to ask about it, before she reconsidered.

“I – I would be interested to hear more about your sudden English-speaking abilities. In your own time of course. For now, I just have a little more to do…” She eyed him with keen interest before she turned away, picking up a collection of wires.

He felt a small smile tugging his lips. Even knowing her a few days, he understood how deadly curious Toni could be. It must be killing her not to interrogate him about who he was, about what he remembered and how much he understood. But she wasn’t because she suspected it might upset him.

She was kind.

He knew in his bones he was making the right decision to stay by her side.

He loved her and would follow wherever she led.


	8. Chapter eight

It was late afternoon by the time Toni let Cap hoist her into his arms and carry her through the canopy back to the river by his shelter. She had considered staying in the quinjet overnight, but they were both sweaty and dehydrated. What was a few more hours delay on getting home? One last quiet night with Cap with just the breeze and sounds of birds and insects serenading them.

She hoped it would not be their last ever night. She was almost sure he would come back with her.

But she had not been able to bring herself to ask.

It was in a relatively sombre mood that they washed. Toni wondered if a part of her would miss this. Probably not, not once she stood beneath the six shower heads at her penthouse.

It was the company she would miss.

She turned to face him, her expression rather serious. He had been pensive for the rest of the day, quiet.

Toni had watched him carefully while she worked on the quinjet components. Though she said he should tell her in his own time, it must have been half an hour of silence before she was itching to ask what was happening in his head. He hadn’t understood a lick of English days ago when she had first met him, now he was stringing together complex sentences?

It was possible that a combination of being back here and having spent time with her was triggering memories – it was so hard to tell with head injuries.

“So… how long has it been since you were here?” she asked carefully, continuing on with her work.

Cap took a moment to answer.

“A while. Years.” He said.

“Do you remember much? Before the quinjet went down I mean?” she pressed.

“No. Yes. Now I am remembering.” He had said shortly.

“I see. Well if you want to talk about it – I’m not exactly an expert in psychology or the human brain, but I’ve been SHILED adjacent for a while, so… happy to help you out. If I can.” She finished.

He nodded his thanks but went back to staring at the wall with a frown.

Toni sighed.

She got up, wanting to see if there was any more copper wiring or something that might prove useful in any of the wall panels she had not yet looked in to. Two were mostly hidden from view – she only knew where to look because her father had likely designed this quinjet. It resembled old blueprints she had looked over in re-designing the newest models herself.

She reached up and pressed the wall, a sizeable hidden compartment popping out. Inside was a silver case, well preserved from its hiding place over the years. Toni pulled it out, but before she could open it, Cap was there. He covered her hands with his own.

“No. Not safe.” He said.

“What is it?” she asked.

“I… “ he shook his head, struggling to remember.

“Important. Not safe.” He finished.

Toni nodded. Anything that cut through a SHILED operative’s apparent amnesia to set off alarm bells as ‘not safe’ was something she wasn’t opening without her suit.

She had left the case and all the parts behind, where they would return tomorrow with the suit components she needs to get comms up and running.

But now, as she looked across at Cap in the water, she did not want to spend their last night alone in the wilderness in heavy silence.

She stepped toward him, Cap automatically responding and meeting her halfway in a sweet embrace. She let out a sigh of relief. Even after a few days it would be so inconceivable and heartbreaking for him to not reach out to her.

Their lips met, Toni immediately deepening the kiss.

“You understand me better now, right?” she asked, breaking away to whisper to Cap.

He nodded, his hands stroking up and down her back.

“Then you know what I mean when I tell you to take me to bed?” she spoke softly in his ear.

Cap’s hands tightened around her waist, a low noise sounding before he captured her lips again.

“Yes Toni.” He said, lifting her out of the water. He bundled up her clothes by the riverside, pressing them into her arms before carrying her back to the shelter.

She wasted no time in reclaiming his lips, running her hands and nails over him slightly more roughly than she usually did. She felt desperate for him, aroused and gagging to get him inside her. She shivered at the thought of how he would react. Toni would not say that sleeping with virgins was a particular kink of hers, but the idea of being Cap’s first, even just his jungle-life-first, was too heady to pass up.

He matched her energy, picking her up again to wrap her legs around his waist so he could lower them both to the floor.

She ground shamelessly against him, groaning at the hard cock that pressed against her through their coverings.

“Naked. Get naked.” She ordered as his knees hit the ground and he gently lowered her on to her back. She stripped off her own underwear quickly, wrapping her legs back around him once he was bare too.

“Good man.” She crooned, reaching down to stroke his sizeable erection between them.

He made a choking sound, pressing further into her. He moved to bury his head in her cunt, but she stopped him.

“Wait. You know I love your mouth baby, but I want your cock first. I want to fuck you properly.”

He looked somewhat shellshocked as he registered her words.

“Would you like that? Do you want to put this in me? Fill me up?” she asked hotly, once again stroking him from root to tip.

“Yes! Yes, please… I… please…” he said. He trembled slightly above her, his excitement tangible – certainly it was clear from the leaking tip of his cock.

“Use your fingers first, stretch me so you can slide right in.” she instructed, arching her back slightly.

Cap was a blur of movement, his right hand immediately cupping her wet pussy and pumping his large middle finger inside her, joined quickly by another. He scissored gently while he angled his fingers, finding her G-spot in a well-practiced move. He did not stop there though. He ducked his head, licking and sucking on her nipples, adding _just_ the right amount of teeth to make her moan and bury her hands in his hair, holding him to her.

He changed the angle of his hand to bury three wide fingers in her, moving them slowly while his thumb came up to brush her clit.

“Toni… Toni… wet, tight…” he murmured against her chest.

“ _Fuck_! Yeah baby, you get me so wet. You’re so good, touch me just how I like, always want to make me feel good huh?” she asked, pulling his head back to look at him.

“Yesss.” He was almost whimpering. “Feel good, want you… make you happy…” he replied in his slightly-broken English.

“You do.” She whispered back to him. “You make me so happy. You take care of me, protect me, give me everything I need, don’t you baby?” she said. Even amid playing up this Protector kink, Toni had to admit that he did. And while it went against her wide independence streak, it both warmed her heart and turned her on.

“Everything I need. Now I need you. Need you inside me baby. Are you gonna give me what I want? What I need?” she asked.

Her words were sending Cap into a state, the hand pumping in to her pressing in harder until he withdrew entirely, small sounds emitting from his throat. He sat back on his knees, shuffling up so his perfect member pressed against her wet lips, her legs spread wide.

Toni felt another shiver of arousal go through her body as Cap looked at her like she was the most delicious buffet being presented to a starving man. She hitched up her bottom to rub the wetness clinging to her skin against his prick.

“Please.” She whispered.

Cap grabbed his cock by the base, holding it firmly for a minute and taking a bracing breath before he lined himself up and pushed in.

He moved slowly, almost agonisingly slow. But she was grateful – he was quite a stretch.

He had clenched his eyes as he moved forward, panting and seemingly unable to deal with the dual stimuli of feeling himself sheathed inside her cunt and watching it happen at the same time.

Once he was buried balls deep he fell forward, catching himself on his hands and kissing Toni messily.

“Mmmm, baby, how does it feel?” she couldn’t resist asking.

“Like… I… heaven.” He panted against her neck where he had moved to lick up a bead of sweat.

“High praise. Just wait til you start moving.” She teased, wrapping her legs around him to cross her ankles behind his bottom. “I’m ready when you are.”

Cap started with a couple of short thrusts, withdrawing only a couple of inches before pressing forward again. She spoke a mixed of encouragement and dirty words to him as he picked up his rhythm, this powerful thrusts now making her slide on her back.

“Yes! That’s it baby, don’t stop. Fuck me. Faster!” she cried, her hands and flexing legs guiding him to what she liked.

“A little… higher, like…” she moaned, tilting her hips up.

Suddenly Cap sat pack, his strong hands lifting her on to his lap and he continued to pump into her.

Toni’s eyes rolled back in her head.

“Yessss baby, there! _Ahhh_ there, oh fuck, perfect, right there! Oh God…” she moaned loudly, not caring if she woke up every leopard and gorilla in the jungle if he just kept nailing her right at that perfect angle.

His stamina was perfection. Even fucking her for the first time, he was focused entirely on her pleasure.

Without even having to ask, he moved one hand from her hip to her clit to rub quickly.

“FUCK! _Ahhhh! Ah ah ah_ …. I’m close…” she grit out from clenched teeth, her body tensing.

“Toni.” Cap growled, making her meet his gaze. Once again, those big blue eyes were on her with a laser-focus. He seemed to be asking her something, something he couldn’t get out in words.

“Cap… Cap, I’m- I’m coming!” she cried, her channel clenching down on Cap’s pistoning cock, her back arching as she cried out her pleasure. The volume of her moans briefly drowned out the sound of him thrusting inside her soaked pussy. Cap continue to pump into her, his rhythm turning more erratic now. The hand that had been between them thumbing her clit was now beside her as he brought his body down, pressing himself against her for as much skin contact as possible. 

“Toni! Toni… can… where….” He grunted out.

She knew what he was asking.

“Come inside me baby…” she said, grabbing his ass to urge him deep into her.

Cap whined, flexing his hips forward three more times before he buried himself in Toni completely, coming hard inside her. He let out a broken cry that descended into a groan, his hips twitching so his pelvis was grinding against hers.

Toni talked him through it, curling one hand around the back of his neck to whisper in his ear.

“Perfect Tesoro, you feel so good… so good. Perfect inside me…” she whispered.

Cap buried his face in her neck, feeling overwhelmed by the sensation of being so intimately connected with Toni. She continued to hold him close.

Eventually he rolled off her and on to his side, wrapping his arms around her so he could keep cuddling her. He reached up to stroke her cheek in the most tooth-rottingly sweet and romantic way, smiling at her like she was the sun or the moon or something else ridiculously poetic.

“Love you.” He whispered.

Toni was taken aback by the earnest declaration. What does someone say when an ex-SHIELD, wild jungle man tells you he loves you after you just had sex in his treehouse?

“You love me?” she echoed in a soft voice. She hated how vulnerable she sounded, but she knew that Cap would never judge her for that.

He nodded, smiling sweetly. “Love you. Marry you.”

Now her heart stopped.

“Ok Cap, that’s a pretty substantial leap there big guy. Let’s not go making promises while we’re post-coital, our brain chemistry isn’t right.” She said weakly.

Even as she joked, there was a giddy young girl inside her squealing that the cutest, sweetest guy she had ever met wanted to marry her. Never mind that countless articles, blogs or even personal interviews that had deemed her ‘not the marrying type’.

Exceptions can always be made.

“Am I to take it… If I can open a line to SHIELD or some other government nearby tomorrow… you would come with me?” she finally asked the question that ha been haunting her for days.

“Yes. Always.” He responded immediately, raising their now entwined hands to his lips to kiss her knuckles.

Toni felt a lump in her throat. Maybe his steadfast dedication would not last once he was back in the real world with options, or even last his full memories returning. But for now, it was incredibly moving for a man as special as Cap to be so devoted to her.

Toni always had a hard time expressing emotions and being sincere with her words, so she struggled now with what to say.

“Thank you. I promise, I’ll make sure you have everything you need to get your life back. Or start a new one, whatever you want.” She promised, unable to bring herself to declare her love just yet, but more than willing to spend her considerable money and valuable time getting Cap the life he wanted and everything he deserved.

“Only need you.” He said.

Man, he was going to kill her with these heartfelt assertions.

“Well Cap, I’m not so good with the love talk as you. The physical side though…” she purred, pushing him over on to his back and climbing on top of him, her knees on either side of his hips.

“Why don’t I show you?”

Cap’s hands automatically came up to grip her hips, his cock already half-hard.

He seemed content with the proposal.


	9. Chapter nine

Toni took a deep breath. If she had done this right, flicking this switch right here should option up a comms channel. She could be speaking to Jarvis in moments and if she could speak to Jarvis, then he could send rescue.

Cap was next to her. Sensing her hesitation, he put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

His silent support helped to ground her nerves. If this did not work (though it would), he was still here, they would be ok and she could try again tomorrow (she would not have to).

_Click._

It was on.

A light static sounded.

Good sign.

“Miss? Can you hear me?”

Toni dropped her head, her emotions suddenly swelling and bringing tears to her eyes.

Jarvis.

“Yeah bud, I’m here. You have me?”

“Yes Miss, I have you. There has been a lot of concern about you since you went off radar. Do you need medical assistance?” Jarvis spoke, his accent such a contrast to the wild environment she had been living in.

“No. I’m ok – I found my own personal hero here in the jungle to keep me safe.” She said, throwing Cap a smirk.

“I am relieved to hear that Miss. I am attempting to calculate your coordinates now to arrange extraction. It is proving rather difficult.”

“I’m not surprised, not exactly clear line of sight for the satellites. While you’re at it, cross reference missing down quinjets in the African jungle. That’s where I’m calling you from, might help narrow down the radius.”

“Yes Miss. Director Fury has been notified that you have made contact, shall I patch him in?”

Toni rolled her eyes. “Might as well.”

A burst of static sounded before Nick Fury’s voice came over the speaker.

“Stark, we’ve been waiting to hear from you for over a week. Where the hell are you?” he demanded.

“Crash landed in the African jungle. No coordinates logged. Not exactly swimming in parts around here, no handy Radio Shack or even a LOST bunker. Took me a couple of days to work a miracle.” She said dryly.

“Do you have the package secured?” he went on. Typical Fury, no respect for her genius.

“Yes I have the package. Seriously, you aren’t interested in the quinjet I found, or the stranded SHIELD operative I’ve been bunking down with?” She asked with faux-innocence.

“Quinjet? We don’t have any downed quinjets on the books, or any operatives that would have been even remotely in that area.” Fury said suspiciously.

“Losing track of your people Fury, tsk tsk.” She replied.

Before Fury could respond, Jarvis was back. “Miss I have a possible local resource that can help to triangulate your signal. Shall I patch them in?”

“Do it. Get the package and your ass back to New York ASAP Stark.” Fury answered on her behalf before abruptly hanging up.

“Always a charmer that one,” she shot at Cap before turning back to Jarvis. “Patch ‘em through J.”

Again a static burst came through before a voice cut through.

“This is Shuri, sister of King T’Challa. I heard you could use some directions?”

**********************************

Princess Shuri had been a most welcome and entertaining rescue call, using Wakandan stealth tech to triangulate the signal of her connection. Rescue was only hours away, tagged to the comm device she now carried with her as she and Cap made their way back to the suit.

She felt a bit bad, loading Cap up like a pack mule. She was on his back while he carried the quinjet’s black box and the big, dangerous, important case of mystery. The weight did not appear to make any difference to him whatsoever.

Jarvis was still connected to her now – it was likely the connection would erode and make conversation impossible before rescue happened, but for now she was soaking up as much of Jarvis as she could.

“Miss, I searched all of SHIELD’s records and found only one instance that could possibly match the quinjet you found.” He said.

“Run it down for us J.” she instructed, squeezing Cap’s shoulders lightly to let him know she was there with him while they heard about his past.

“It was a stealth mission, related to a secret HYDRA base where reports of experimentation on an unknown energy source were occurring. There was an extraction mission, where the operative was to acquire intelligence and related materials to deliver back to SHILED, but they never made it back to base. The quinjet was last pinged somewhere in the Gulf of Guinea.”

Jarvis continued with a bit more hesitation in his artificial voice. “Miss, the mission report dates this at just over twenty years ago.”

Toni frowned. “That can’t be right. What information do you have on the operative?”

“The operative’s identity was classified as ‘need to know’. I suspect a history of experimentation will be found with more digging. He was a captain, name of Steven Grant Rogers.”

Cap stumbled, coming to an abrupt halt as he heard the name.

“Baby is that… do you recognise that name?” Toni asked gently.

“That’s me. Steven Rogers.” He said roughly.

Toni dislodged herself from his back, coming around to his front to gauge how upset he was from his expression. He just looked thoughtful.

“I forgot that. My name. I forgot who I was.” He said, not even hesitating over the words coming from his mouth.

“It’s ok. You’ve got a bit of catching up to do, but you have time. Probably a lot of time, given how little you’ve aged…” she finished with a mumble.

He looked at her with misty eyes.

“Toni, you did this. You are giving me back who I used to be.”

Cap – Steve – put down his burden and wrapped Toni in his arms, a shaky breath revealing how moved he was to finally have his real name back.

“Hey, it’s ok. I didn’t really do anything here…” she said, feeling slightly awkward to receive his praise when all she did was crash land and follow him around the jungle for several days. Hardly her best work.

“Thank you Toni.” Came the muffled voice.

She just held him tightly.

**********************************

The roar of the engine above them was a startling contrast to the peace of the jungle.

“The canopy is too dense for us to land. We are going to have to engage our anti-gravitational sonic field to lift you. It may feel slightly disconcerting, but it is perfectly safe.” Came to voice of Shuri from Toni’s communicator.

“…You’re gonna beam us up.” Toni remarked deadpan.

Shuri laughed. “Your molecular mass will not be altered.” She promised.

“You and I are having a long talk when I get to Wakanda.” Toni said almost excitedly. This girl had some serious tech.

“I would be happy to provide some advice on how you can update some of your Stark Tech, really bring it in to the current century.” Shuri joked.

Toni was in too jovial a mood to be put off by that comment. She suspected Shuri was right anyway, and hoped that she would be willing to share some of her designs around the use of vibranium.

“Beam engaging in 5...4…3…”

Steve grasped her hand in his, which she squeezed reassuringly.

Around them a bright blue light beam appeared. The black box and two HYDRA cases went up first, followed next by the broken-down Iron Woman suit and left-over drone skeleton and pieces. Toni felt a slight tug on her body and then nothing. She was weightless.

She was suddenly very grateful to have Steve’s hand in hers – feeling tethered to something was comforting when the Earth no longer had a pull on you.

They found themselves in an ultra-modern plane cabin, all sleek lines and glossy surfaces. It took Toni’s eyes a few moments to adjust to the artificial lighting in the cargo area they had been transported in to.

The Wakandan soldiers greeted them, providing blankets, water and protein bars (thank God, no more fruit) and told them to rest in their seats as they transported them the two hours back to the city.

Toni slumped with relief, leaning heavily on Steve as she nibbled on her snack.

He wrapped himself around her comfortingly.

Toni knew she had to say it now. Soon they would be in a flurry of activity, being debriefed by the Wakandan authorities, by SHIELD, catching up with Rhodey and Pepper and the rest of the Avengers, and then likely any family or friends of Steve still living. She had no intention of leaving Steve’s side through all this, but she knew privacy was about to be hard to come by.

“Steve… I wanted to say thank you. For everything you’ve done for me. Full on heroic rescue, guardian angel stuff really. But I also want you to know… I’m glad it happened. I’m glad I found you, even if it took a crash landing to do so.”

Steve looked both fond and surprised at her words. “I’m glad I found you too.” He said softly.

“And just so you know, I have no intention of stopping looking out for you.” He continued with a hint of cheek.

Toni grinned at him. “Oh baby, right back at you. I’m going to spoil you so bad you’re never gonna want to leave me.”

Steve dropped a chaste kiss on her lips.

“Never.”

END

_34 hours later a.k.a their first time in a bed_

Toni fell back on the soft linen duvet, basking in the luxury of a mattress and blankets. If she _ever_ had to sleep on the ground again it would be too soon.

Unfortunately, Steve did not feel the same way. After years of sleeping on the hard ground, he was disoriented by the bedding. Last night he had slept on the floor beside her bed. She would have to engineer some sort of super-firm mattress, or maybe even a topper so they could still share the same bed…

The bed may be too soft for Steve to sleep in, but Toni bet she could still lure him into it.

It was actually effortless – one crooked finger and Steve was on top of her, sliding his tongue against hers.

She though idly about what she should do to him. He really liked it when she rode him, they could do that. Or maybe start a little slower… she hadn’t felt his tongue on her pussy for over 24 hours which was just unacceptable.

Once he was on his knees next to the bed, her legs spread wide over the side so he could eat her out, she fervently promised herself that she was going to pin him down and see how long he would last with her mouth on him.

Given what was coming to light about his super-solider past, she thought she would be able to get a few rounds out of him too. The scientist in her delighted over the potential experimental parameters for her make-Steve-come-so-hard-he-passes-out project, but then he started sucking hard on her clit and all other thoughts temporarily left her mind.

_5 days later a.k.a the first time Steve re-met Bucky_

They flew back to New York a couple of days after their jungle rescue, landing on the Tower’s helipad. They had a few hours to get settled, to show Steve around, before James ‘Bucky’ Barnes would be joining them.

Steve seemed both nervous and excited about the meeting. He had asked Toni to be there, which of course she would. She had scheduled the visit for 5pm, so that if it went poorly they had an excuse for him to go, if it well Bucky would stay for dinner or if it went very well Toni could excuse herself to made-up plans and give the men a chance to catch up properly.

Steve had cut his hair and shaved his beard, a huge symbolic move for re-joining the world. Toni had seen pictures of him before he went missing (both pre and post serum) and he looked almost the same, maybe 1 or 2 extra years on him. His strong jaw was now on show, and she couldn’t help but nip at it in the corridor, backing him up against the wall. They made out like teenagers for a while, Steve more than happy to indulge Toni’s desires, but then Jarvis spoke.

“Sergeant Barnes has arrived in the building. He will enter the lounge in approximately 3 minutes.”

Steve took a steadying breath, heading out to the lounge, tightly clutching Toni’s hand.

“It’ll be fine you know. Even if it is a bit awkward at first, you guys were best friends. You’ll find common ground.” She assured him.

“I hope you’re right. I just… he thought I was dead for twenty years. How do I…” Steve trailed off, torn.

“…are you saying that you feel _guilty_? Steve baby, no one blames you for what happened! The tesseract blew the controls, no one could have fixed that – not even me. The fact that you managed to survive at all is a miracle, not something to apologise for or regret. You hear me?” she spoke forcefully.

Steve turned to her, an almost hopeful look in his eye when the elevators dinged.

Bucky stepped out.

He looked older than Steve, but not by much. He had dark hair and had obviously dressed up for the occasion, wearing his service uniform. The closest resemblance between the two was their big puppy-dog eyes. They both looked lost, staring awkwardly at each other from across the room. After a couple of moments of drawn-out silence, Toni could stand it no longer.

“Sergeant Barnes? Toni Stark. Nice to meet you. Steve’s been telling me all about you for a few days now.” She said, shamelessly selling Steve out for being excited to meet his friend again.

Bucky nodded warmly at Toni, but his eyes were drawn back to his friend he long-thought dead.

“Thanks Toni… I… Stevie, man… it’s so good to see you.” Just like that, they both moved forward to embrace each other, neither caring that a tear or two escaped.

The tearful reunion lasted about ten minutes, a heartbroken Bucky hearing about Steve losing his memory and living without human contact for so many years. Steve sped through that part, focusing more attention on telling Bucky about finding Toni in the jungle. After that, the boys found their rhythm, ribbing each other and laughing about old friends and memories.

Toni excused herself briefly but when she popped back in to tell them that Jarvis could order them dinner if they liked, Steve held her hand in his own and Bucky began asking her if she had any footage of Steve in a loin cloth. She stayed, telling Jarvis to project the images captured in their first day in Wakanda.

The three ate, drank and laughed until the early morning, Toni offering one of the spare rooms to Bucky to stay the night. After a quick call to his husband (“travelling in Lagos for business, otherwise he would have come”), they cleared up and said their goodnights.

“He’s a charming guy.” Toni commented as she stripped off her clothes, getting ready for bed.

“Yeah. Used to have the girls eating out of the palm of his hand.” Steve said with a chuckle.

“Hmmm, I can see that. Two handsome young soldiers, charming the pants off everyone they meet. You two must have been beating them off with sticks.” Toni teased.

Steve laughed again. She had never seen him laugh as much as he did tonight, a weight lifted off his shoulder that his old life would not be obtainable.

“Me? Not so much. I was never that popular… just waiting for the right partner I guess.” He said sweetly, kissing her quickly while he continued to get ready for bed.

“Mmm smart girl like me knows what she’s got.” She replied with a wink.

The domestic bliss suited her a lot more than she thought it would.

_19 days later a.k.a the first disagreement_

Toni was elbow deep in a suit, AC/DC blaring from the speakers. Shuri had a few pointers she was throwing in, but it was a lot of trial and error to make some of the enhancements work.

“Toni. Toni. TONI!” the yell broke through her concentration.

Steve was standing next to her in his loose fitting sleep pants and shirt.

“J, cut it.” She said, and the music cut off abruptly.

“What’s going on? Too loud for you?” she asked absently, still working on the chest plate in front of her.

“Toni, do you have any idea what time it is? You’ve been in here for 20 hours. You need to rest.” He said with concern.

Toni scoffed. “Not even close to a personal best. I’m getting somewhere with the new fit, I just need to make it like 20 pounds lighter…” she said, trailing off as her attention again turned to the suit.

“Toni! This can wait. You skipped dinner, you need to eat something then come to bed.” Steve said crossly.

“No, I _need_ to strip back the reinforcement in the arms. Legs need to stay, but 3 pounds off each arm will make a difference… with the new magnetised beacon, you should always have your shield anyway…”

Steve frowned in confusion.

“What… are you making a suit for _me_?” he asked bewildered.

“It’s a new armour. If you’re going to be joining the Avengers, you’re not going out in vintage Kevlar and spandex. Your shield only covers so much, and if you need to get airborne and I’m not around, the propulsors in the boots will get you out of trouble. You won’t be making any cross-country trips with them, but they’ve got at least a few blocks in them.” She confirmed, still lending some of her attention to the components spread out in front of her.

“Toni, that’s… that’s very kind and thoughtful, really I appreciate it. But you can’t work yourself to the bone trying to build something for me.” He said, softer now.

“Yeah Steve, I can. I can spend hours, weeks, working on armour for you because if I don’t? If something goes wrong and you are left unprotected… that’s on me. You’re strong and smart and supercharged but I _have_ to protect you.” She responded, sounding increasingly upset.

“Hey, hey shhhhh…” Steve said, immediately pulling Toni into his embrace.

She took a deep breath, the scent of his body wash and skin calming her.

“I know you want to take care of me. And you know that I want to take care of you too. And that is not limited to the battlefield. I can’t have you risking your wellbeing now to help me later. I can’t bear it.” He said to her softly.

“Cap, we have two infinity stones in this building. Trouble is definitely coming for us and we all need to be ready. That includes functioning armour.”

“That includes a rested and healthy Iron Woman.” He shot back before sighing. “Look Toni if you want to be down here working through this, then I will support you. I’ll bring you food, I’ll hold parts and run your errands-“

“Just like the old days.” Toni said with a small smile.

“Just like.” Steve said fondly. “But that also means me taking you to bed so you’re ready to keep going tomorrow.”

Toni sighed. She hated when he made sense.

“Fine. But I’m getting Jarvis to wake me up in five hours.”

“Eight.” Steve negotiated.

“Six.” She shot back, standing up to walk out of the lab with him.

“Six and a half, and you wake me up too so we can have breakfast.” He responded, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

“Throw in a couple of orgasms and you have a deal.”

Steve laughed in response, squeezing her shoulder.

“Deal.”

_49 days later a.k.a their first battle together_

When Thanos came, he almost laid waste to them all.

Steve had a lot of content to fill his nightmares, but the smoking, blood-soaked battleground would hold a special place. He had a nasty cut on his arm and what felt like several cracked ribs as well as being covered in bruises. But worst of all, he had lost track of Toni.

Across the field he could see Thanos fighting Thor, the stones glowing brightly on the gantlet as he shook off the lightning Thor was driving through him. He launched himself across the field to help Thor, but he was too far away.

He yelled into the comms for anyone that could to make their way to Thor, but everyone was fighting for their lives. Thanos’s army was huge and his Children so powerful. He was still a quarter mile away, separated by a dozen monsters as he saw Thanos knock Thor away and raise his fist.

Iron Woman slammed into him without warning, wrestling with his raised hand.

Steve heard himself yell, fighting tooth and nail to get there, get to Toni, don’t let her get hurt-

Thanos got his other huge purple hand on the shoulder of her damaged suit, throwing her away like a rag doll. He spoke to her, the words lost to the rage of battle, when he raised his fist once more to snap his fingers.

This was it.

They had lost.

And Steve was still a hundred feet away, watching helplessly as this mad Titan was about to commit genocide.

He snapped his fingers.

Nothing happened.

He looked as confused as Steve felt.

Then, just as he thought he could not feel worse, his blood turned to ice and his stomach dropped even further with dread.

Both turned their gaze to Toni.

The stones were sparking where they were integrating into Toni’s gauntlet. Her face plate was gone and Steve could read the determination there.

She was going to sacrifice herself.

“NO!” he cried, anguished, pushing even harder to get to her side.

He grabbed her uncovered hand just as she snapped. He was not going to let her do this alone.

Pain thundered through his body like a terrible electric shock. He turned his head with great effort to look at Toni. She looked anguished, both in pain and distraught at seeing him there with her.

Dying by the side of the woman he loved to save the universe – there were far worse ways to go.

Then Steve felt a hand grab his other arm.

Thor held on tight, and Steve felt some of the power of the stones running through his own body into Thor’s mighty form. The pain lessened slightly.

He could see through slitted eyes that Natasha was grabbing on to Thor’s other hand, her body lighting up too. Then Clint, then T’Challa and Dr Strange. Another jolt lessened the pain further and he turned to see Bucky holding on to Toni’s other side and the Hulk joining him. More and more grasped on to the chain, a line of Avengers protecting not just the universe but Toni too. He felt a surge of pride.

They watched, all in pain, as Thanos’s army disintegrated into dust, melting away in the breeze. The battlefield cleared until only Thanos was left on his knees before them, his failure and confusion clear on his face.

The Guardians stepped forward, the ones that had introduced themselves as Gamora, Nebula and Drax days ago when they had first landed on Earth to warn them Thanos was coming. Each drew a blade.

The power of the stones faded, their work done. As the chain broke, all of the Avengers watched sombrely as the Guardians took their revenge on this being that had tortured them, killed their families.

It was done.

He fell to his knees in time to catch Toni’s unconscious form. He frantically felt for a pulse.

There. It was there.

He heard Bucky already reporting back to the SHIELD medical and Dr Cho who were on their way.

“Stay with me Toni. Stay, please…” he murmured into her ear.

She would be ok.

She had to be ok.

_98 days later a.k.a their first dance_

Toni looked amazing in a form fitting red dress, her bouquet set to the side as she fondly watched Pepper and Happy move gracefully in their first dance.

The wedding was beautiful, as elegant as one would expect an event organised by Pepper Potts to be. Toni would have paid for everything if they had let her, but Pepper and Happy had talked her down to just the food, drink and cake. Plus a sizeable contribution to the honeymoon.

Pepper looked radiant, and Happy looked like he thought he was the luckiest man in the world. He certainly was lucky, but not as lucky as Steve.

He watched her smile at her closest friends. He was in awe of this wonderful, generous, brave woman. There was a huge part of him that still could not believe that she gave him the time of day, let alone let him spend his life by her side and in her bed.

It wasn’t always smooth sailing of course, it could not be with a personality as fiery and independent as Toni’s, or with a stubborn man like Steve. She had been furious at him for interfering with the infinity stones, berating him from her recovery room. He had a few choice words to say to her as well, but even through the arguing and the stony silence, he did not leave her room, nor did she ask him to.

Now the worst was behind them. There would always be bad guys the Avengers needed to fight, but none like Thanos. And there were more of them now, the Avengers. It did not always have to be Iron Woman.

She deserved a life outside of her heroics, whether that was with him or Jarvis and her inventions, with Stark Industries or travelling around the world.

But still, she stayed with him.

As the newly wedded couple gestured for people to join them on the dance floor, Steve jumped immediately at the opportunity to hold out his hand to Toni, receiving a laughing smile in return.

He swept her on to the dance floor, holding her close. He did not have much talent for dancing, but he could certainly lead a simple slow waltz.

Toni pressed against him, joined hands resting on his chest. “So romantic Captain Rogers.”

“I can’t believe I’ve gone so long without dancing with you. I intend to remedy that in the future Ms Stark.” He said fondly.

“Mmmm, very nice. Shall I book us a salsa teacher? Perhaps a bit of tango, that’s the dance of lovers isn’t it?” her teasing words punctuated the soft stroking of his neck, the mindless gesture of affection warming him from the inside out.

“Whatever you like. We should try them all, narrow down what sort of dance we might do at our wedding.” He said, sounding almost dreamy.

Toni smiled widely. “Was that a proposal Captain?”

“It’s a note for the ‘to-do’ list. The proposal will come some place other than Pepper and Happy’s wedding.” He told her matter of factly.

“I look forward to it. Unless I manage to propose first...” She said warmly back, kissing him softly on the lips before resting her head against his chest.

Steve chuckled. “You’re on.”


End file.
